It is an alliance of groups that join forces to achieve what none could achieve alone. In politics, coalitions are how minorities become majorities, how movements win, and how governments are sometimes formed.
A coalition is a temporary alliance of distinct groups, factions, or parties who unite to pursue a common goal. The word comes from the Latin coalescere, to grow together. The parts remain distinct but act as one for a shared purpose.
In American politics, coalitions form constantly, within and across parties. A bill might pass because farm-state legislators, labor allies, and urban reformers each get something they want. The major parties themselves are really coalitions of many interest groups.
In parliamentary systems abroad, coalitions are even more formal. When no single party wins a majority, several parties must form a coalition government, bargaining over power and policy to govern together. The arrangement holds only as long as the partners stay aligned.
Coalitions win where solos lose. Social movements have long understood that no single group has the numbers to prevail alone, so they build coalitions, broad alliances across causes and communities, to assemble the majority that change requires.
