A Generic Approach to Coalition Formation
Krzystof Apt, Andreas Witzel

Abstract:
We propose an abstract approach to coalition formation by focusing on
partial preference relations between partitions of a grand
coalition. Coalition formation is modelled by means of simple merge
and split rules that transform partitions. We identify conditions
under which every iteration of these rules yields a unique
partition. The main conceptual tool is the notion of a stable
partition. The results naturally apply to coalitional TU-games and to
some classes of hedonic games.e