alternance crédible

12:30 Mar 26, 2021 

...think you fully understand (and I'm talking about myself here)

Larousse

https://www.larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais/alternance/25...

Politique

Succession régulière au pouvoir de partis ou de coalitions de partis, dans le cadre des institutions existantes. (L'alternance est facilitée par l'existence du bipartisme et l'emploi d'un mode de scrutin majoritaire).

06:36 Mar 26, 2021 

this text is not about "l'alternance" as in France, or USA - where it's an ongoing process.

It's about a country with ONLY ONE political organisation. To initiate any process of "alternance" you first need to have ANOTHER political force to alternate to, to find it or to create it. And a credible one.

Not easy as in a dictature, dictators do their best/worst to eliminate any "credible alternative", so that there is simply no one else to alternate to at all, no "alternance" feasible.

16:07 Mar 25, 2021 

"Nicolas Sarkozy : «Nous sommes la seule alternance crédible»www.lefigaro.fr › Actualité › Politique
10 déc. 2015 — INTERVIEW - L'ancien chef de l'État estime que voter pour les Républicains dimanche permettra de «sanctionner» les socialistes sans ..."

If you're talking binaries -- left/right -- "alternance" is fine. But what if, in the example above, power went from the Socialists, to some other, imaginary, party on the left, that's not "alternance", left to right, that's an alternative.

The words are available in French to say something like "une transition pacifique de pouvoir".

AC/DC -- alternating, binary.

Conclusion: "something else", change/changeover (see Lisa's answer) is good, I think, alternative.

15:04 Mar 25, 2021 

Nikki Scott-Despaigne: The term is used accurately in the source text. The organization, as you point out, is indeed in the running to ensure that the political power will shift and alternance becomes a reality. That's the idea in the source text. Thanks.

14:59 Mar 25, 2021 

Hi, Conor.
My example is the original text, except for Pluton, of course. What this organization wants is the normal succession of governments that characterizes democratic systems. The text is about an organization that wishes to put an end to a dictatorship that has been in power for a long time. I am here if you have more questions. Thanks so much.

13:31 Mar 25, 2021 

I don't know whether the text the Asker has used is the actual context or random context.

Perhaps the author intended to use or should have used the word "alternative" in French?

Question and actual context are not clear -- can the asker clarify?

10:40 Mar 25, 2021 

The terms are obviously related, but alternating power is what "alternance" (politique) is about. Whether the term is being used accurately in the source text or not is uncertain. Is the organisation aiming to be one alternative, among probable others? Or is the organisation actually in the running to ensure that the political power will shift and alternance become a reality?