Translation and articulation in the organization of coalitions: The Great Whale River case

This article presents a new method of analysis that enables us to study the strengths and weaknesses of the associations created during the organizati on of coalitions. Based on a case study this model shows that organizing a coalition consists of making different agendas compatible by establishing a series of translations between them. As illustrated in this article, these translation activities are enacted through narrative forms in which actors (individual or collective) construct points of articulation between their different objectives. It is therefore the narrative embedding of a series o f actions that ultimately structure social and physical reality and constit ute what we call a coalition. To illustrate this new approach to organizati onal communication, the analytical model presented is applied to analyze th e associations involved in the organization of coalitions during an environ mental controversy, the Great Whale River project.