Riker's Principle of Minimal Winning Coalitions

Riker's Principle of Minimal Winning Coalitions states that in a decision-making group, the ideal coalition is one where all members are necessary for a majority—adding any more members would be redundant. This means the coalition is just large enough to win, but no larger, ensuring efficiency. Such coalitions are stable because removing a member would cause the group to lose its majority, making them the most effective and least costly way to achieve a decision or hold power. This concept helps explain how political groups form and maintain control with the smallest effective team.