common front

{{Short description|Political alliance}}

In politics, a common front is an alliance between different groups, forces, or interests in pursuit of a common goal or in opposition to a common enemy. Other words that may be used are "alliance" or "coalition", though the term "common front" is often used when groups want to emphasize that their alliance is of a temporary nature and that individual groups within the front maintain their independence and do not consider themselves subservient to a collective partnership.

The practice of uniting with anyone against a common enemy is called frontism. Historically, it has been a practice of Marxist–Leninist parties to unite with non-communist forces in revolution. In left-wing politics, there are two main types of common fronts: the popular front and the united front.{{cite book |last=Darlington |first=Ralph |date=1998 |title=The Political Trajectory of J.T. Murphy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8wTtLu_LMVkC |publisher=Liverpool University Press |pages=240–243 |isbn=9780853237334}}