Coalition Dynamics
Abstract
All political-military coalitions endure internal centrifugal and centripetal forces that simultaneously act to bind and dissolve them, thus affecting their behavior. This paper examines the major internal forces of coalition dynamics under four broad categories: interests, power and influence, rewards, and decision making. Interests are the heart of coalitions for it is the pursuit of interests that provides the catalyst of coalition formation. Individual member interests will never be identical either in kind or intensity, but a common purpose can and must be identified. Although the coalition's stated goals can be couched in relatively vague terms, each member's interests cannot. Shared ideology, culture and institutional systems aid in coalition formation, but are not strong enough forces to predict formation, nor guarantee duration and success. Regardless of member composition, previous cooperative effort engenders future cooperative arrangements. Power within a coalition is never absolute. Although coalitions tend to be as small as possible to maximize each member's power and expected reward, uncertainty and complexity will usually cause them to be larger than necessary.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 15, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA250256
Entities
People
- Raymond D. Barrett Jr.
Organizations
- United States Army War College