coalition

A coalition is an alliance among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in his own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant. Possibly described as a joining of 'factions', usually those with overlapping interests rather than opposing.

Politics and government

A coalition government, in a parliamentary system, is a government composed of a coalition of parties. In Australia, the Coalition is also used to refer to an alliance (coalition agreement) of three parties (the Liberals, Nationals and Country Liberals) existing in federal politics since 1922—this constitutes a parliamentary coalition. A coalition of parties is also an electoral fusion.

the Cambridge Dictionary defines coalition as: the union of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually for a limited time.

In international relations, a coalition can be an ad hoc grouping of nations united for a specific purpose. Sometimes, such groups are diverse and are characterized by some degree of commonalities. Sometimes, the degree of uncommonalities would lead some to perceive the group's bond as being ordinarily unlikely; here it can indicate the fact the historical ties may no longer be in operation, and the coalition members, instead, are joined by a new intention, not necessarily prior bonds.

A coalition might also refer to a group of citizens uniting behind a common goal. Many of these are grassroots organizations, like the Christian Coalition.

It can also be collaborative, means-oriented arrangement, especially a temporary one, that allows distinct people or organizational entities to pool resources and combine efforts in order to effect change. The combination of such persons or entities into one body, as a union, variously organized and structured, but generally less formal than a covenant. Although persons and groups form coalitions for many and varied reasons, the most common purpose is to combat a common threat or to take advantage of a certain opportunity; hence, the often-temporary nature of coalitions. The common threat or existence of opportunity is what gives rise to the coalition and allows it to exist. Such collaborative processes can gain political influence and potentially initiate social movements. According to Sidney Tarrow, five elements are necessary to maintain a coalition:

1. Members must frame the issue that brings them together with a common interest.
2. Members’ trust in each other and believe that their peers have a credible commitment to the common issue(s) and/or goal(s).
3. The coalition must have a mechanism(s) to manage differences in language, orientation, tactics, culture, ideology, etc. between and among the collective’s members (especially in transnational coalitions).
4. The shared incentive to participate and, consequently, benefit.

Coalitions manifest in a variety of forms, types and terms of duration:

• Campaign coalitions with high intensity and long-term cooperation
• Federations, characterized by relatively lower degree of involvement, intensity and participation, involving cooperation of long duration, but with members’ primary commitment remaining with their own entities
• Instrumental coalitions, involving low-intensity involvement without a foundation to mediate conflict
• Event-based coalitions that have a high level of involvement and the potential for future collaboration.

Economics

A coalition in economics refers to a group of companies that create a mutual trust between each other in order for increased profit. For example, Dunkin Donuts and Baskin-Robbins create a coalition by having shared stores and thus shared revenue.

Political science

Within political science, coalition theory is using game theory to analyze formation, workings and break-up of coalitions .

Military

A coalition is a collection of countries involved in a military operation who are unified under a single command. An example is the coalition assembled by George H.W. Bush during the Persian Gulf War, as well as the "Coalition of the Willing", a phrase employed during the 2003 campaign for the war in Iraq led by the United States and its allies [1].

Mathematics

Coalitions can be studied as games. The Nash equilibrium defines conditions where rational players can benefit other players in the coalition.

Computer science

In the computer field, and in the study of cognition, the entities can be called agents or daemons. By definition, agents can form coalitions.

Fiction

• The Coalition, a group in the Star Fleet Universe, the General War era.

See also

Look up coalition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Axelrod's book, The Evolution of Cooperation
• united front
• Coalition (Australia)
• Barisan Nasional, Malaysian ruling party coalition
• Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysian opposition coalition
• List of political parties in Israel
• Multi-party system

References

This article is missing citations or needs footnotes. Please help add inline citations to guard against copyright violations and factual inaccuracies. (December 2007)

External links

• Mapleleaf Web - Coalition Governments in Canada