Coalition

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A coalition is formed when two or more people or groups temporarily work together to achieve a common goal. The term is most frequently used to denote a formation of power in political or economical spaces. [1] [2]

Contents

Formation

According to A Guide for Political Parties published by the National Democratic Institute and the Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights, there are five steps to coalition building. [3] The first step in coalition building involves developing a party strategy that will prepare for successful negotiation. The more effort parties place on this step, the more likely they are to identify strategic partners, negotiate a good deal and avoid some of the common mistakes associated with coalition building. The second step is negotiating a coalition. Based on the strategy that each party has prepared, the parties come together to negotiate and reach an agreement on the coalition terms. Depending on the context and objectives of the coalition, these negotiations may be completely secret or partially public. While some issues may be agreed on with relative ease, others may be more contentious and require different approaches to reach compromise. As negotiation concludes, the agreement between political parties needs to be formally sealed. This third step includes finalizing a written agreement, securing formal approval of the deal from the relevant structures of the coalition’s member parties and announcing the coalition details to the general public. The next step involves working in coalition. As the coalition partners begin working to implement their agreement, they will need to maintain good relations by continuing efforts to increase or sustain trust and communication among the member parties. Each party will also need to find a balance between respecting its obligations to the coalition and maintaining its individual identity. The final step is to identify lessons learned. Regardless of whether it plans to move forward alone or in another coalition, it is important for each party to review and document lessons learned from each coalition-building experience. This will make it possible to get a clearer picture of the positive and negative impacts of coalition-building on the party and to identify lessons learned that can inform any future coalition-building efforts.

Coalitions manifest in a variety of forms, types, and terms of duration. [4] Campaign coalitions are high intensity and involve long-term cooperation. Federations are characterized by a relatively lower degree of involvement, intensity, and participation, also involving long-term cooperation but with members' primary commitment remaining with their own entities. Instrumental coalitions have low-intensity involvement without a foundation to mediate conflict. Finally, event-based coalitions are those that have a high level of involvement and the potential for future collaboration.

In contrast to alliances, coalitions may be termed partnerships of unequals, since comparative political, economic, and military might, as well as the extent to which a nation is prepared to commit to the coalition, dictate influence. Coalitions can often occur as unplanned responses to situations of danger, uncertainty, or extraordinary events, directed at interim objectives. [5]

Function

Coalitions can be classified as internal or external. Internal coalitions consist of people who are already in an organization, such as a workplace. [6] For example, a trade union is a type of coalition formed to represent employees' wages, benefits, and working conditions. Without this unity between employees, workers may be subjugated to harsh working environments and low pay due to no practical regulations. [7] Often, organizations prefer to meet with members of their respective internal coalitions before implementing changes in the workplace to ensure support. [6]

In contrast, external coalitions consist of people that are members of different organizations who collaborate their efforts to achieve an overall objective. [6] For example, in order to prevent gun violence and advocate gun control, several groups, unions, and nonprofit organizations banded together to form the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. External coalitions base their confidence in gaining credibility on inviting unlikely partners who wish to attain the same end goal, even if the reasons to achieve the goal differ. [6]

Use

Government and politics

Coalition government is an alternative model to a majority government, the latter being prevalent in winner-take-all first-past-the-post electoral systems that favor clear distinctions between winners and losers. [8] [9] Not only can coalitions of legislative groups form governments in parliamentary systems, they can also form in divisions of power.[ clarification needed ] Most typical analyses of coalitions in politics deal with the formation of multiparty cabinets in parliamentary regimes. [10] In Germany, every administration has been a multiparty coalition since the conclusion of the Second World War –an example of coalition government creation in a parliamentary system. When different winning coalitions can be formed in a parliament, the party composition of the government may depend on the bargaining power of each party and the presence or lack of a dominant party. [10]

Coalitions are similar to parliamentary groups. Fluid coalitions, which change with each vote, exist in the European Parliament [11] and Swiss parliament to pass legislation.

International relations

Diagram of some international coalitions established by Brazil, China, India, Mexico, Russia and South Africa: BASIC, BRICS, G5 and IBSA Diagrama BASIC, BRICS, G5, IBAS.svg
Diagram of some international coalitions established by Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil, Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China, Flag of India.svg  India, Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico, Flag of Russia.svg  Russia and Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa: BASIC, BRICS, G5 and IBSA

The temporary collaboration of two or more separate parties with a set goal and common purpose can be viewed as a coalition in international relations. [12] Coalition competitions are represented in international political dynamics. [13] A coalition can be an ad hoc grouping of nations united for specific purposes. [14] 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, resulting in 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 as all parties involved see the benefit in working together. Such collaborative processes allow the actors of the coalition to approach a common goal or accomplish the same task. [15] The behavior and dynamics of coalitions in international relations are created by commonalities and differences within the groups joining together. Rationality, group dynamics, and gender are all contributing factors of coalitional behaviors in an international security framework. [16]

Economics

Economic agents can form coalitions. [17] When a coalition is formed around economic goals, the reasoning is financial. In economics, when two opposing sectors, such as a buyer and seller or two sellers, come together, it can be thought of as a coalition in the denotative sense, as the two groups come together temporarily to achieve a goal. [18] One example would be the 1997 deal between Microsoft and Apple. The deal consisted of Microsoft rescuing the then-struggling Apple with a cash infusion of $150 million. [19] Unions can be viewed as coalitions of workers, usually of the same job sector. When the agents considered are countries, the formation of an international treaty (e.g. trade agreements or international environmental agreements) can also be seen as a coalition. In economics, a coalition's formation and its stability is mostly studied using game theory.

Civil society

In civil society, a coalition denotes a group effort or a population of people coming together who believe strongly in their cause. The term also describes alliances between civil society organizations, such as labor unions, community organizations, and religious institutions. In France for example, workers from different sectors and unions band together to aid each other in communicating a point. This coalition of unions is often very effective as it can cause massive inconvenience to the country. [20] The formation of coalitions such as the Community-Labor Coalition have proven to be an important strategy for social change in many contexts. [21] In social groups, a coalition often forms from private citizens uniting behind a common goal or purpose, sometimes within a coalitional identity. Many of these private citizen groups form grassroots organizations, such as the Christian Coalition, which is the largest grassroots political group in the US. [22] Activist groups in civil society are also viewed as coalitions for their respective cause. These activists are joined together by their belief in what they want to achieve or accomplish.

Military

Military coalitions can be built and united under a singular power by multiple states and governments. They are fluid in terms of membership –not only does a country not have to have been a traditional ally to join a coalition, but nations can join, vary their contributions and caveats, withdraw, and be replaced by new members as the situation changes or national agendas change. [5] The expansion of assets accessible to member nations to perform military operations is a crucial attribute of coalitions. In many ways, coalition warfare serves to make the crafting of a peace more difficult than winning the war itself. [23] An example of such a coalition happened after World War I during the 1919 Versailles Peace Conference, when the Allied powers attempted to reach a peace agreement.

Examples of military coalitions include the Coalition of the Gulf War, when George H. W. Bush ended Saddam Hussein's aggression in the Middle East by enlisting and leading a military coalition in the 1991 Gulf War's Operation Desert Storm [24] as well as his son George W. Bush's efforts in the Coalition of the Willing, a phrase employed during the 2003 campaign for the war in Iraq led by the US and its allies. A contemporary example is the United Nations coalition that intervened in the 2011 Libyan Civil War against Muammar Gaddafi. For coalitions to be effective in principle or in action, participating nations have tended to require a single overpowering threat –perhaps to freedom or a way of life or a crucial national interest –or the presence of a single despotic figure or regime whose continued existence is considered not only abhorrent to the generality of nations but also destabilizing to the region or world order. [5]

Mathematics

In mathematics, the term coalition is linked to an equation which uses the coalition model for exponential population growth. This analytical equation was first published by mathematician Pierre François Verhulst in 1838 to allow for the approximation of the world's population at a given time by applying differential and integral techniques. [25]

See also

Related Research Articles

A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in nations with majoritarian electoral systems, but common under proportional representation. A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis to give a government the high degree of perceived political legitimacy or collective identity, it can also play a role in diminishing internal political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions. If a coalition collapses, the Prime Minister and cabinet may be ousted by a vote of no confidence, call snap elections, form a new majority coalition, or continue as a minority government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign policy of the United States</span> National foreign policy of the United States

The officially stated goals of the foreign policy of the United States of America, including all the bureaus and offices in the United States Department of State, as mentioned in the Foreign Policy Agenda of the Department of State, are "to build and sustain a more democratic, secure, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community". Liberalism has been a key component of US foreign policy since its independence from Britain. Since the end of World War II, the United States has had a grand strategy which has been characterized as being oriented around primacy, "deep engagement", and/or liberal hegemony. This strategy entails that the United States maintains military predominance; builds and maintains an extensive network of allies ; integrates other states into US-designed international institutions ; and limits the spread of nuclear weapons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irredentism</span> Territorial dispute

Irredentism is usually understood as a desire by one state to annex a territory of another state. This desire can be motivated by ethnic reasons because the population of the territory is ethnically similar to the population of the parent state. Historical reasons may also be responsible, i.e., that the territory previously formed part of the parent state. However, difficulties in applying the concept to concrete cases have given rise to academic debates about its precise definition. Disagreements concern whether either or both ethnic and historical reasons have to be present and whether non-state actors can also engage in irredentism. A further dispute is whether attempts to absorb a full neighboring state are also included. There are various types of irredentism. For typical forms of irredentism, the parent state already exists before the territorial conflict with a neighboring state arises. However, there are also forms of irredentism in which the parent state is newly created by uniting an ethnic group spread across several countries. Another distinction concerns whether the country to which the disputed territory currently belongs is a regular state, a former colony, or a collapsed state.

World government is the concept of a single political authority with jurisdiction over all of Earth and humanity. It is conceived in a variety of forms, from tyrannical to democratic, which reflects its wide array of proponents and detractors.

In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Proxy war</span> Type of armed conflict between two states or non-state actors

A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a proxy war, there must be a direct, long-term relationship between external actors and the belligerents involved. The aforementioned relationship usually takes the form of funding, military training, arms, or other forms of material assistance which assist a belligerent party in sustaining its war effort.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canadian Labour Congress</span> National trade union centre

The Canadian Labour Congress, or CLC is a national trade union centre, the central labour body in Canada to which most Canadian labour unions are affiliated.

A political organization is any organization that involves itself in the political process, including political parties, non-governmental organizations, and special interest advocacy groups. Political organizations are those engaged in political activities aimed at achieving clearly-defined political goals, which typically benefit the interests of their members.

A memorandum of understanding (MoU) is a type of agreement between two (bilateral) or more (multilateral) parties. It expresses a convergence of will between the parties, indicating an intended common line of action. It is often used either in cases where parties do not imply a legal commitment or in situations where the parties cannot create a legally enforceable agreement. It is a more formal alternative to a gentlemen's agreement.

Consociationalism is a form of democratic power sharing. Political scientists define a consociational state as one which has major internal divisions along ethnic, religious, or linguistic lines, but which remains stable due to consultation among the elites of these groups. Consociational states are often contrasted with states with majoritarian electoral systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Election monitoring</span> Observation of an election by independent parties

Election monitoring involves the observation of an election by one or more independent parties, typically from another country or from a non-governmental organization (NGO). The monitoring parties aim primarily to assess the conduct of an election process on the basis of national legislation and of international election standards. There are national and international election observers. Monitors do not directly prevent electoral fraud, but rather record and report instances of suspicious practices. Election observation increasingly looks at the entire electoral process over a long period of time, rather than at election-day proceedings only. The legitimacy of an election can be affected by the criticism of monitors, unless they are themselves seen as biased. A notable individual is often appointed honorary leader of a monitoring organization in an effort to enhance legitimacy of the monitoring process.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Transatlantic relations</span>

Transatlantic relations refer to the historic, cultural, political, economic and social relations between countries on both side of the Atlantic Ocean. Sometimes it specifically means relationships between the Anglophone North American countries, and particular European countries or organizations, although other meanings are possible.

Global governance refers to institutions that coordinate the behavior of transnational actors, facilitate cooperation, resolve disputes, and alleviate collective action problems. Global governance broadly entails making, monitoring, and enforcing rules. Within global governance, a variety of types of actors – not just states – exercise power. Governance is thus broader than government.

A non-state actor (NSA) An individual or organization that has significant political influence but is not allied to any particular country or state.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sister Cities International</span> Organization

Sister Cities International (SCI) is a nonprofit citizen diplomacy network that creates and strengthens partnerships between communities in the United States and in other countries, particularly through the establishment of "sister cities"—broad and long-term agreements formally recognized by civic leaders. Its mission is to "build global cooperation at the municipal level, promote cultural understanding and stimulate economic development". A total of 1,800 cities, states, and counties are partnered in 138 countries worldwide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International organization</span> Organization established by treaty between governments

An international organization, also known as an intergovernmental organization or an international institution, is an organization that is established by a treaty, or is an instrument governed by international law and possessing its own legal personality, such as the United Nations, the World Health Organization, Save the Children International, International Union for Conservation of Nature, and NATO. International organizations are composed of primarily member states, but may also include other entities, such as other international organizations, firms, and nongovernmental organizations. Additionally, entities may hold observer status. An alternative definition is that an international organization is a stable set of norms and rules meant to govern the behavior of states and other actors in the international system.

Tripartism is an economic system of neo-corporatism based on a mixed economy and tripartite contracts between employers' organizations, trade unions, and the government of a country. Each is to act as a social partner to create economic policy through cooperation, consultation, negotiation, and compromise. In Tripartism, the government has a large role in the economy and engages in negotiations between labor unions and business interest groups to establish economic policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Commercial policy</span>

A commercial policy is a government's policy governing international trade. Commercial policy is an all encompassing term that is used to cover topics which involve international trade. Trade policy is often described in terms of a scale between the extremes of free trade on one side and protectionism on the other. A common commercial policy can sometimes be agreed by treaty within a customs union, as with the European Union's common commercial policy and in Mercosur. A nation's commercial policy will include and take into account the policies adopted by that nation's government while negotiating international trade. There are several factors that can affect a nation's commercial policy, all of which can affect international trade policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israeli Peace Initiative</span>

The Israeli Peace Initiative is a compromise plan given by the political left within Israel in response to the Arab Peace Initiative issued by the Arab League in 2002 and again in 2007. It was released on April 6, 2011. It compromises with the Palestinians in an effort to establish peace in Israel. One of the key differences from other peace plans is that the Israeli Peace Initiative proposes a complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. It also calls for the establishment of the Temple Mount as neutral ground between Palestine and Israel, and the retention of the Jewish Quarter of the Old City within Israel. Additionally, the peace plan addresses Israel's relations with its Arab neighbors, including settling the dispute over the Golan Heights, territory that Israel captured from Syria in the Six-Day War.

References

  1. ↑ Coalition International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. Vol. 1, 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. p. 586–587.
  2. ↑ ""Coalition." Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27.
  3. ↑ "Coalitions: A Guide for Political Parties". www.ndi.org. 27 October 2015.
  4. ↑ Tarrow, Sidney (2005). The New Transnational Activism . New York: Cambridge University Press. pp.  168. ISBN   9780521851305.
  5. 1 2 3 Graham, Andrew (2012). Lindley-French, Julian; Boyer, Yves (eds.). The Oxford Handbook of War. Great Clarendon Street, Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780199562930.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Gallicano, McComas, Tiffany, Katherine (2013). Encyclopedia of Public Relations. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc. pp. 126–129.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Why unions are good for workers—especially in a crisis like COVID-19: 12 policies that would boost worker rights, safety, and wages". Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved 2021-08-16.
  8. ↑ Darity, William (2008). International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. USA: Macmillan Reference. ISBN   978-0028659657.
  9. ↑ "coalition Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
  10. 1 2 Colomer, Josep (2011). Badie, Bertrand; Berg-Schlosser, Dirk; Morlino, Leonardo (eds.). International Encyclopedia of Political Science. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. p. 287. ISBN   9781412959636.
  11. ↑ European Parliament: Is the grand coalition really a thing of the past?, Awenig Marié, 2019
  12. ↑ Fogarty, Edward (February 7, 2013). "Coalition POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS". www.britannica.com/topic/coalition. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28.
  13. ↑ Lopez, Anthony C.; McDermott, Rose; Petersen, Michael Bang (Fall 2011). "States in Mind: Evolution, Coalitional Psychology, and International Politics". International Security. 36 (2): 48–83. doi:10.1162/ISEC_a_00056. S2CID   57562816.
  14. ↑ Morin, Jean-Frédéric; Orsini, Amandine (2015). Essential Concepts Of Global Environmental Governance. New York, NY, 10017: Routledge. ISBN   978-0-415-82246-6 . Retrieved 26 April 2017.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  15. ↑ Meyer, David; Whittier, Nancy (May 1994). "Social Movement Spillover" (PDF). Society for the Study of Social Problems. 41 (2): 277–298. doi:10.2307/3096934. JSTOR   3096934. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  16. ↑ Kazemi, S.; Enayati Hatkehlui, B.; Kazemi, A. (2014). "The Relationship between Organizational Culture Factors and Employees' Group Dynamics: Case Study of General Office of Education in Mazandaran Province". Journal of Industrial Strategic Management. 11 (35): 35–48. Archived from the original on 2017-04-27.
  17. ↑ Carlo, Carraro (2003). The Endogenous Formation of economic coalitions. Northhampton Massachusetts: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. ISBN   1-84376265-X . Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  18. ↑ "What is a coalition? definition and meaning". business dictionary. Archived from the original on 2017-04-29.
  19. ↑ ABELL, JOHN (August 6, 2009). "August 6, 1997: Apple Rescued — by Microsoft". Wired. Archived from the original on 2016-03-07.
  20. ↑ "CNN Wire. June 2, 2016". CNN Newsource Sales, Inc.[ permanent dead link ]
  21. ↑ Pitcoff, Winton (September 1998). "Community Labor Coalitions". www.nhi.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2017-04-26.
  22. ↑ "About Us". www.cc.org/about_us. Archived from the original on 2008-03-04.
  23. ↑ Hardy, Travis (2013). Piehler, Kurt (ed.). Encyclopedia of Military Science. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Reference. ISBN   978-1-78402-464-2.
  24. ↑ Atkin, Maurice; Gartner, Lloyd; Geldman, Arden; Kenen, Isaiah; Rader Marcus, Jacob; Temkin, Sefton (2007). Berenbaum, Michael; Skolnik, Fred (eds.). Encyclopaedia Judaica. Detroit, Michigan, USA.: Macmillan Reference. ISBN   978-0-02-865928-2.
  25. ↑ Smith, Moore, David, Lawrence. "World Population Growth - The Coalition Model". Mathematical Association of America. Archived from the original on 2017-04-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

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