Table of Contents
Definition of Coalition
(noun) Two or more individuals or groups who combine influence, power, and resources to achieve a mutual goal.
Example of Coalition
Coalition Pronunciation
Syllabification: co·a·li·tion
Audio Pronunciation
Phonetic Spelling
- American English – /koh-uh-lIsh-uhn/
- British English – /kohuh-lIsh-uhn/
International Phonetic Alphabet
- American English – /ˌkoʊəˈlɪʃ(ə)n/
- British English – /ˌkəʊəˈlɪʃn/
Usage Notes
- Plural: coalitions
- Coalitions can be permanent or temporary.
- Georg Simmel (1858–1918) noted that the difference between a dyad (group of two) and triad (group of three) in addition to larger groups is there are opportunities in a triad for two members to form a coalition against the other.
- A (noun) coalitionist or (noun) coalitioner uses (adjective) coalitional or (adjective) coalitionary methods to achieve certain goals.
Related Video
Additional Information
- Word origin of “coalition” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com
- Browne, Eric C. 1973. Coalition Theories: A Logical and Empirical Critique. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
- Caplow, Theodore. 1968. Two Against One: Coalitions in Triads. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
- Ferree, Myra Marx, and Beth B. Hess. 2000. Controversy and Coalition: The New Feminist Movement across Three Decades of Change. London: Routledge.
- Hinckley, Barbara. 1975. Coalitions and Time: Cross-disciplinary Studies. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
- Wilson, William J. 2001. The Bridge over the Racial Divide: Rising Inequality and Coalition Politics. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Related Terms
Works Consulted
Collins English Dictionary: Complete and Unabridged. 6th ed. 2003. Glasgow, Scotland: Collins.
Henslin, James M. 2012. Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach. 10th ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).
Schaefer, Richard. 2013. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. 10th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).
Cite the Definition of Coalition
ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “coalition.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved April 19, 2024 (https://sociologydictionary.org/coalition/).
APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)
coalition. (2013). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/coalition/
Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Bell, Kenton, ed. 2013. “coalition.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed April 19, 2024. https://sociologydictionary.org/coalition/.
MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)
“coalition.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2013. Web. 19 Apr. 2024. <https://sociologydictionary.org/coalition/>.