Coalitions play a vital role in international diplomacy. They are a strategic resource, they help synthesize a range of competing positions, they help countries to identify their preferences, and they help to set agendas for global decision making. Most states cannot go it alone in international affairs, as recognized by Africa's leaders at independence. Even the most powerful countries need allies most of the time. And this is especially true when it comes to participation in international organizations. One of the central assumptions of this book is that coalition formation and maintenance are central to the foreign policy strategies of African countries. To support this assumption and identify its implications, this chapter briefly examines the history of African states’ participation in coalitions within international organizations, examines general theories surrounding coalition formation and maintenance, identifies a typology of coalitions, and notes the threats that coalitions face. I find that African states have a long history of participating in coalitions with partners both within the region and outside. While they have long participated in international institutions and negotiations as a regional bloc – and continue to do so today – they individually are participating in an increasing number of strategic issue-based coalitions. The existence and success of such coalitions, however, are predicated on the institutional environments states face. Specifically, most of these coalitions are designed to operate within the scope of a single international organization. Far less common is the use of coalitions to directly address the strategic considerations of institutional systems.

AFRICA'S COALITIONS: A BRIEF HISTORY

The first African coalitions in global politics were focused on political concerns: anticolonialism, pro-independence movements, and the struggle against apartheid. Such coalition building by African states began prior to independence, as future heads of state met with each other and with other emerging world leaders. One such opportunity was the Asian-African Solidarity Conference in Bandung, Indonesia, in 1955.