​This study analyses the transitional period in Sudan after the December 2018 uprising, focusing on shifts within the hybrid coalition that was formed to oversee the transitional period. This coalition consisted of three components: the military establishment, the civilian coalition, and the armed movements. The study argues that contentious politics dominated the political process and shows that this hybrid alliance underwent several schisms, prompting the formation of new coalitions and the reproduction of old ones, thus exacerbating instability in the transitional period. It explores the mechanisms and processes that influenced political actors in a dynamic political climate, and further examines the mechanisms of conflation, multiple targeting, zero-sum engagement, and ideology in the process of building and dismantling alliances.