Ad hoc coalitions in global governance: a conceptual framework

Ad hoc coalitions play an increasingly indispensable, but under-researched part of the global governance architecture. Obvious examples in security include the Joint Force of the Group of Five Sahel (JF-G5S) in Mali and the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) fighting Boko Haram in northern Nigeria. Remarkably, while scholars have spent much effort into providing typologies and classifications of international organizations (e.g. differentiating them on the basis of their membership, geographical scope, tasks, function, centralization, etc.), the label ‘ad hoc coalitions’ is still mainly treated as a catch-all concept. The paper starts with a presentation of the first-ever dataset on ad hoc coalitions in global security and health, covering the period from 2000 to date. Expanding on previous work, the dataset classifies ad hoc coalitions according to institutionalization; duration; geographical focus; membership; leadership; and sponsorship. The paper then proceeds to analyze initial findings from the dataset, and presents a conceptual framework to inform analysis of ad hoc coalitions across different policy domains.