"For all the critique of interparty coalitions, they become inevitable - and essential instruments of governance - when absolute majorities are not realised in an election. Coalitions are, in a sense, a product of the people's will in that the electorate asserts a lack of overwhelming confidence in any single contestant in the polls. Marriages of Inconvenience: The politics of coalitions in South Africa is a research-based volume that collates and interprets lessons that South Africa should take to heart in managing such eventualities. It draws from domestic experiences as well as from case studies on the rest of the African continent and generic instances further afield."