Keyword

Axes

Upper Left Quadrant Details Upper Right Quadrant Details Lower Left Quadrant Details Lower Right Quadrant Details Details

Quadrants

Outline

Coalition became one of the central concerns of 20th century political science (as well as for practical politics) because "the interest" (not the individual) was adopted as the atomic unit of political analysis. Although individuals are the bearers of interests, it is the interest that is played out through conflict and accommodation in the political process (LLQ). This is the basis of electoral coalitions, referring to the efforts by political parties to conduct campaign appeals in such a manner as to attract voters from various communities or class surroundings to provide a base for representation (LRQ). With respect to parliamentary coalitions, emphasis in the US has been on coalitions of groups formed to pressure (or lobby) governments toward preferred policies (ULQ). By contrast, the focus in European settings is more toward coalitions of political parties to form a governmental majority (URQ).