Forming Stable Coalitions: The Process Matters

51 Pages Posted: 3 Dec 2003

See all articles by Steven J. Brams

Steven J. Brams

New York University (NYU) - Wilf Family Department of Politics

Michael A. Jones

Mathematical Reviews

D. Marc Kilgour

Wilfrid Laurier University - Department of Mathematics

Date Written: October 2003

Abstract

Players are assumed to rank each other as coalition partners.

Two processes of coalition formation are defined and illustrated:

- Fallback (FB): Players seek coalition partners by descending lower and lower in their preference rankings until some majority coalition, all of whose members consider each other mutually acceptable, forms.

- Build-up (BU): Same descent as FB, except only majorities whose members rank each other highest form coalitions.

BU coalitions are stable in the sense that no member would prefer to be in another coalition, whereas FB coalitions, whose members need not rank each other highest, may not be stable. BU coalitions are bimodally distributed in a random society, with peaks around simple majority and unanimity the distributions of majorities in the US Supreme Count and in the US House of Representatives follow this pattern. The dynamics of real-life coalition-formation processes are illustrated by two Supreme Court cases.

Keywords: Coalition dynamics, Fallback bargaining, Manipulability, Legislatures, US Supreme Court

JEL Classification: D72, C78

Suggested Citation

Brams, Steven and Jones, Michael A. and Kilgour, D. Marc, Forming Stable Coalitions: The Process Matters (October 2003). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=467304 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.467304

Steven Brams (Contact Author)

New York University (NYU) - Wilf Family Department of Politics ( email )

Dept. of Politics
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HOME PAGE: http://politics.as.nyu.edu/object/stevenbrams.html

Michael A. Jones

Mathematical Reviews ( email )

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Ann Arbor, MI 48104
United States

D. Marc Kilgour

Wilfrid Laurier University - Department of Mathematics ( email )

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