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Coalition

 

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Coalition



 
 
A coalition is an alliance among individuals, during which they cooperate in joint action
Joint venture

A joint venture is an entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. The parties agree to create a new entity by both contributing Ownership equity, and they then share in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise....
, each in his own self-interest
Self-interest

Self-interest, originally had a more strictly financial meaning. Closer in English to its current meaning was the word commodity. Only later did it take on the more general senses given below:...
. 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
Covenant

A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the covenanter is the only party bound by the promise....
. Possibly described as a joining of 'factions'.

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Coalition government

A coalition government is a Cabinet of a parliamentary system government in which several political party cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament....
, in a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system

Parliamentary systems are characterized by no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, leading to a different set of checks and balances compared to those found in presidential systems....
, is a government composed of a coalition of parties.






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A coalition is an alliance among individuals, during which they cooperate in joint action
Joint venture

A joint venture is an entity formed between two or more parties to undertake economic activity together. The parties agree to create a new entity by both contributing Ownership equity, and they then share in the revenues, expenses, and control of the enterprise....
, each in his own self-interest
Self-interest

Self-interest, originally had a more strictly financial meaning. Closer in English to its current meaning was the word commodity. Only later did it take on the more general senses given below:...
. 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
Covenant

A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the covenanter is the only party bound by the promise....
. Possibly described as a joining of 'factions'.

Politics and government

A coalition government
Coalition government

A coalition government is a Cabinet of a parliamentary system government in which several political party cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament....
, in a parliamentary system
Parliamentary system

Parliamentary systems are characterized by no clear-cut separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches, leading to a different set of checks and balances compared to those found in presidential systems....
, is a government composed of a coalition of parties. In Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, the Coalition
Coalition (Australia)

The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition since 1922....
 is also used to refer to an alliance (coalition agreement) of three parties (the Liberals
Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an List of political parties in Australia.Founded a year after the Australian federal election, 1943 to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office....
, Nationals
National Party of Australia

The National Party of Australia is an List of political parties in Australia.Traditionally representing rural voters, it was originally called the Country Party, but adopted the name National Country Party in 1975 and changed to its present name in 1982....
 and Country Liberals
Country Liberal Party

The Country Liberal Party is a Northern Territory political party affiliated with both the Liberal Party of Australia and National Party of Australia parties....
) existing in federal politics since 1922—this constitutes a parliamentary coalition. A coalition of parties is also an electoral fusion
Electoral fusion

Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political party support a common candidate, pooling the votes for all those parties. By offering to endorse or nominate a major party's candidate, minor parties can influence the candidate's platform....
.

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

In international relations
International relations

International relations represents the study of foreign affairs and global issues among states within the international system, including the roles of states, international organization , non-governmental organizations , and multinational corporations ....
, 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
Covenant

A covenant, in its most general sense, is a solemn promise to engage in or refrain from a specified action.More specifically, a covenant, in contrast to a contract, is a one-way agreement whereby the covenanter is the only party bound by the promise....
. 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
Baskin-Robbins

Baskin-Robbins is a global chain of ice cream parlors founded by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins in 1945 in Glendale, California. It claims to be the world's largest ice cream franchise, with more than 5,800 locations, 2,800 of which are located in the United States....
 create a coalition by having shared stores and thus shared revenue.

Political science

Within political science
Political science

Political science is a social science concerned with the theory and practice of politics and the description and analysis of political systems and political behavior....
, coalition theory is using game theory
Game theory

Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences , biology, engineering, political science, international relations, computer science , and philosophy....
 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
Gulf War

"Persian Gulf War" and "First Gulf War" redirect here. For other uses, see Persian Gulf War .The Persian Gulf War was a United Nations-authorized military conflict between Iraq and a Coalition of Gulf War from 34 nations commissioned with expelling Iraqi forces from Kuwait after Iraq's Invasion of Kuwait of Kuwait in August 1990....
, as well as the "Coalition of the Willing
Coalition of the willing

The term coalition of the willing is a post-1990 political phrase used to describe military or military/humanitarian interventions for which the United Nations Security Council cannot agree to mount a full UN peacekeeping operation....
", a phrase employed during the 2003 campaign for the war in Iraq
Iraq War

The Iraq War, also known as the Second Gulf War, the Occupation of Iraq, and Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing conflicts military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the 2003 invasion of Iraq by a Multinational force in Iraq now led by and composed almost entirely of troops from the United States and United King...
 led by the United States and its allies .

Mathematics

Coalitions can be studied as games
Game theory

Game theory is a branch of applied mathematics that is used in the social sciences , biology, engineering, political science, international relations, computer science , and philosophy....
. The Nash equilibrium
Nash equilibrium

In game theory, Nash equilibrium is a solution concept of a game involving two or more players, in which each player is assumed to know the equilibrium strategies of the other players, and no player has anything to gain by changing only his or her own strategy unilaterally....
 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 agent
Intelligent agent

In artificial intelligence, an intelligent agent is an autonomous entity which observes and acts upon an environment and directs its activity towards achieving goals ....
s or daemon
Daemon (computer software)

In Unix and other computer computer multitasking operating systems, a daemon is a computer program that runs in the background , rather than under the direct control of a user; they are usually initiated as background Computer processes....
s. By definition, agents can form coalitions.

Fiction

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


See also

  • Axelrod's book, The Evolution of Cooperation
    The Evolution of Cooperation

    The Evolution of Cooperation generally refers to:* the study of how cooperation can emerge and persist as elucidated by application of game theory,...
  • united front
    United front

    The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionary socialism. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international socialist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution....
  • Coalition (Australia)
    Coalition (Australia)

    The Coalition in Australian politics refers to a pragmatic grouping of centre-right parties that has existed in the form of a coalition since 1922....
  • Barisan Nasional
    Barisan Nasional

    Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia. Formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance , it has been Malaysia's ruling political party since independence....
    , Malaysian ruling party coalition
  • Pakatan Rakyat
    Pakatan Rakyat

    Pakatan Rakyat or PR was established on April 1, 2008. The political coalition comprises a group of Malaysian political parties, namely, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat , Democratic Action Party , and Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party , who collectively worked together as the Barisan Rakyat during the 12th Elections in Malaysia in 2008....
    , Malaysian opposition coalition
  • List of political parties in Israel
    List of political parties in Israel

    Israel's political system is based on proportional representation which allows for a multi-party system with numerous parties. Although there are three major parties, a single party usually has no chance of gaining power by itself, forcing the parties to cooperate and form coalition governments....
  • Multi-party system
    Multi-party system

    A multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition....


External links