How to Build the Right Coalition

Abstract: In competitive authoritarian and autocratic contexts, political parties win elections more frequently by running as public unity coalitions. However, in eroding democracies, voters are often highly polarized. The incumbent often won because the main opposition party was disliked by a plurality or majority of voters. Joining with such a tainted party can harm candidates’ chances. Where elected leaders are eroding once-strong democracies, opposition parties often do better with quiet coalitions in which parties remain fully independent but work together; choosing not to run against one another, or competing electorally to offer voters’ choice, but promising to caucus together post-election.