Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-xtgtn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-17T23:26:14.060Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Conceptualizing interstate cooperation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2021

Moritz S. Graefrath Open the ORCID record for Moritz S. Graefrath [Opens in a new window]  and
Marcel Jahn Open the ORCID record for Marcel Jahn [Opens in a new window]
Moritz S. Graefrath*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, University of Notre Dame, 2060 Jenkins Nanovic Halls, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USA
Marcel Jahn
Affiliation:
Institut für Philosophie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany
*
Author for correspondence: Moritz S. Graefrath, E-mail: mgraefra@nd.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

There seems to exist a general consensus on how to conceptualize cooperation in the field of international relations (IR). We argue that this impression is deceptive. In practice, scholars working on the causes of international cooperation have come to implicitly employ various understandings of what cooperation is. Yet, an explicit debate about the discipline's conceptual foundations never materialized, and whatever discussion occurred did so only latently and without much dialog across theoretical traditions. In this paper, we develop an updated conceptual framework by exploring the nature of these differing understandings and situating them within broader theoretical conversations about the role of cooperation in IR. Drawing on an array of studies in IR and philosophy, our framework distinguishes between three distinct types of cooperative state interactions – cooperation through tacit policy coordination (‘minimal’ cooperation), cooperation through explicit policy coordination (‘thin’ cooperation), and cooperation based on joint action (‘thick’ cooperation). The framework contributes to better theorization about cooperation in two main ways: it allows scholars across theoretical traditions to identify important sources of disagreement and previously unnoticed theoretical common ground; and the conceptual disaggregation it provides grants scholars crucial theoretical leverage by enabling type-specific causal theorization.

Keywords

Collective intentionalitycooperationintentionsjoint actionpolicy coordination
Type
Research Article
Information
International Theory , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , March 2023 , pp. 24 - 52
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abbott, Kenneth W. 1989. “Modern International Relations Theory: A Prospectus for International Lawyers.” Yale Journal of International Law 14: 335–411.Google Scholar
Acharya, Amitav. 2001. Constructing a Security Community in Southeast Asia: ASEAN and the Problem of Regional Order. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Adler, Emanuel, and Barnett, Michael N.. 1996. “Governing Anarchy: A Research Agenda for the Study of Security Communities.” Ethics & International Affairs 10 (1): 63–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Axelrod, Robert. 2006. The Evolution of Cooperation, revised ed. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Axelrod, Robert, and Keohane, Robert O.. 1985. “Achieving Cooperation Under Anarchy: Strategies and Institutions.” World Politics 38 (1): 226–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bacharach, Michael. 2006. Beyond Individual Choice: Teams and Frames in Game Theory. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baronowski, Donald Walter. 2013. Polybius and Roman Imperialism. New York: Bloomsbury.Google Scholar
Beach, Derek, and Pedersen, Rasmus Brun. 2016. Causal Case Study Methods: Foundations and Guidelines for Comparing, Matching, and Tracing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beck, Lukas, and Jahn, Marcel. 2021. “Normative Models and Their Success.” Philosophy of the Social Sciences, 51 (2): 123–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Betts, Alexander. 2009. Protection by Persuasion: International Cooperation in the Refugee Regime. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Bratman, Michael E. 1992. “Shared Cooperative Activity.” Philosophical Review 101 (2): 327–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bratman, Michael E. 2014. Shared Agency: A Planning Theory of Acting Together. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carr, Edward Hallett. 2001. The Twenty Years’ Crisis, 1919–1939: An Introduction to the Study of International Relations. New York: Perennial.Google Scholar
Collier, David, Laporte, Jody, and Seawright, Jason. 2008. “Typologies: Forming Concepts and Creating Categorical Variables.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology, edited by Box-Steffensmeier, Janet M., Brady, Henry E., and Collier, David, 152–73. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Collins, Stephanie. 2013. “Collectives’ Duties and Collectivization Duties.” Australasian Journal of Philosophy 91 (2): 231–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deutsch, Karl, Burrell, Sidney A., Kann, Robert A, Lee, Maurice Jr., Lichterman, Martin, Lindgren, Raymond E., Loewenheim, Francis L., and Van Wagenen, Richard W.. 1957. Political Community and the North Atlantic Area. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Epstein, Brian. 2015. The Ant Trap: Rebuilding the Foundations of the Social Sciences. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erskine, Toni. 2014. “Coalitions of the Willing and Responsibilities to Protect: Informal Associations, Enhanced, Capacities, and Shared Moral Burdens.” Ethics & International Affairs 28 (1): 115–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Evans, John W. 1968. “The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.” International Organization 22 (1): 72–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finnemore, Martha. 1996. “Constructing Norms of Humanitarian Intervention.” In The Culture of National Security: Norms and Identity in World Politics, edited by Katzenstein, Peter J., 153–85. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Finnemore, Martha. 2003. The Purpose of Intervention: Changing Beliefs About the Use of Force. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Forde, Steven. 1995. “International Realism and the Science of Politics: Thucydides, Machiavelli, and Neorealism.” International Studies Quarterly 39 (2): 141–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gallagher, Nancy. 2005. “Towards a Reconsideration of the Rules for Space Security.” Available at https://drum.lib.umd.edu/bitstream/handle/1903/7970/space_rules2006.pdf. Accessed 24 August 2021.Google Scholar
Gilbert, Margaret. 1992. On Social Facts. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gilbert, Margaret. 2013. Joint Commitment: How We Make the Social World. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaser, Charles L. 1994. “Realists as Optimists: Cooperation as Self-Help.” International Security 19 (3): 50–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glaser, Charles L. 2010. Rational Theory of International Politics: The Logic of Competition and Cooperation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goddard, Stacie E., and Nexon, Daniel H.. 2016. “The Dynamics of Global Power Politics: A Framework for Analysis.” Journal of Global Security Studies 1 (1): 4–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gowa, Joanne. 1986. “Anarchy, Egoism, and Third Images: The Evolution of Cooperation and International Relations.” International Organization 40 (1): 167–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grieco, Joseph M. 1990. Cooperation among Nations: Europe, America, and Non-Tariff Barriers to Trade. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grynaviski, Eric. 2010. “Necessary Illusions: Misperception, Cooperation, and the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.” Security Studies 19 (3): 376–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grynaviski, Eric. 2014. Constructive Illusions: Misperceiving the Origins of International Cooperation. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Guala, Francesco. 2016. Understanding Institutions: The Science and Philosophy of Living Together. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Haas, Peter M. 1990. Saving the Mediterranean: The Politics of International Environmental Cooperation. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Hakli, Raul, Miller, Kaarlo, and Tuomela, Raimo. 2010. “Two Kinds of We-Reasoning.” Economics and Philosophy 26 (3): 291–320.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hurd, Ian. 2020. “The Case Against International Cooperation.” International Theory 1–22. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/S1752971920000470.Google Scholar
Ikenberry, G. John. 2019. After Victory: Institutions, Strategic Restraint, and the Rebuilding of Order After Major Wars, new ed. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Jervis, Robert. 1978. “Cooperation Under the Security Dilemma.” World Politics 30 (2): 167–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jervis, Robert. 1999. “Realism, Neoliberalism, and Cooperation.” International Security 24 (1): 42–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Keohane, Robert O. 1984. After Hegemony: Cooperation and Discord in the World Political Economy. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Kuhn, Thomas. 2012. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 50th Anniversary Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kydd, Andrew. 1997. “Sheep in Sheep's Clothing: Why Security Seekers Do Not Fight Each Other.” Security Studies 7 (1): 114–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lake, David A. 1999. Entangling Relations: American Foreign Policy in Its Century. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Legro, Jeffrey W. 1995. Cooperation Under Fire: Anglo-German Restraint During World War II. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Lehnert, Matthias. 2007. “Typologies in Social Inquiry.” In Research Design in Political Science: How to Practice What They Preach, edited by Gschwend, Thomas and Schimmelfennig, Frank, 62–79. London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindblom, Charles E. 1965. The Intelligence of Democracy: Decision Making Through Mutual Adjustment. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
List, Christian, and Pettit, Philip. 2011. Group Agency: The Possibility, Design, and Status of Corporate Agents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ludwig, Kirk. 2017. “Methodological Individualism, the We-Mode, and Team Reasoning.” In Social Ontology and Collective Intentionality, edited by Preyer, Gerhard and Peter, Georg, 3–18. Cham: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marschik, Axel. 2012. “The UN Security Council and Iraq.” In Unfinished Business: Why International Negotiations Fail, edited by Faure, Guy Olivier, 19–42. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.Google Scholar
Martin, Lisa L. 1992. “Interests, Power, and Multilateralism.” International Organization 46 (4): 765–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, Lisa L. 2000. Democratic Commitments: Legislatures and International Cooperation. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mattes, Michaela, and Rodríguez, Mariana. 2014. “Autocracies and International Cooperation.” International Studies Quarterly 58 (3): 527–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mearsheimer, John J. 1994. “The False Promise of International Institutions.” International Security 19 (3): 5–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mearsheimer, John J. 2014. Tragedy of Great Power Politics, Updated ed. New York: W.W. Norton.Google Scholar
Mearsheimer, John J., and Walt, Stephen M.. 2013. “Leaving Theory Behind: Why Simplistic Hypothesis Testing is Bad for International Relations.” European Journal of International Relations 19 (3): 427–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Benjamin. 2002. When Opponents Cooperate: Great Power Conflict and Collaboration in World Politics. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Milner, Helen. 1992. “International Theories of Cooperation Among Nations: Strengths and Weaknesses.” World Politics 44 (3): 466–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitzen, Jennifer. 2013. Power in Concert: The Nineteenth-Century Origins of Global Governance. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monten, Jonathan. 2006. “Thucydides and Modern Realism.” International Studies Quarterly 50 (1): 3–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moravcsik, Andrew. 1998. The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Messina to Maastricht. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Morgenthau, Hans J. 2006. Politics Among Nations: The Struggle for Power and Peace. New York: McGraw Hill.Google Scholar
Oye, Kenneth A. 1985. “Explaining Cooperation Under Anarchy: Hypotheses and Strategies.” World Politics 38 (1): 1–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pettit, Philip, and Schweikard, David. 2006. Joint Actions and Group Agents. Philosophy of the Social Sciences 36 (1): 18–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, Richard M. 1997. The Chemical Weapons Taboo. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Rigby, David. 2012. Allied Master Strategists: The Combined Chiefs of Staff in World War II. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.Google Scholar
Rosato, Sebastian. 2011a. “Europe's Troubles: Power Politics and the State of the European Project.” International Security 35 (4): 45–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosato, Sebastian. 2011b. Europe United: Power Politics and the Making of the European Community. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ruggie, John Gerard. 1998. “What Makes the World Hang Together? Neo-Utilitarianism and the Social Constructivist Challenge.” International Organization 52 (4): 855–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schelling, Thomas C. 1980. The Strategy of Conflict. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Searle, John R. 1990. “Collective Intentions and Actions.” In Intentions in Communication, edited by Cohen, Philip R., Morgan, Jerry, and Pollack, Martha, 401–15. Cambridge: MIT Press.Google Scholar
Snidal, Duncan. 1985. “Coordination Versus Prisoners’ Dilemma: Implications for International Cooperation and Regimes.” The American Political Science Review 79 (4): 923–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snidal, Duncan, and Sampson, Michael. 2014. “Interstate Cooperation Theory and International Institutions.” Oxford Bibliographies. Available at https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199743292/obo-9780199743292-0093.xml. Accessed 24 September 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sugden, Robert. 1993. “Thinking as a Team: Towards An Explanation of Nonselfish Behavior.” Social Philosophy and Policy 10 (1): 69–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tannenwald, Nina. 2007. The Nuclear Taboo: The United States and the Non-Use of Nuclear Weapons Since 1945. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tollefsen, Deborah Perron. 2002. “Collective Intentionality and the Social Sciences.” Philosophy of the Social Sciences 32 (1): 25–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomz, Michael. 2007. Reputation and International Cooperation: Sovereign Debt Across Three Centuries. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo. 1989. “Actions by Collectives.” Philosophical Perspectives 3: 471–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo. 2000. Cooperation: A Philosophical Study. Dordrecht: Springer Science.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo. 2011. “Cooperation as Joint Action.” Analyse & Kritik 33 (1): 65–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tuomela, Raimo. 2013. Social Ontology: Collective Intentionality and Group Agents. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vasquez, John A. 1993. The War Puzzle. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Webb, Michael C. 1995. The Political Economy of Policy Coordination: International Adjustments Since 1945. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 1992. “Anarchy is What States Make of it: The Social Construction of Power Politics.” International Organization 46 (2): 391–425.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 1994. “Collective Identity Formation and the International State.” American Political Science Review 88 (2): 384–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 1999. Social Theory of International Politics. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wendt, Alexander. 2004. “The State as Person in International Theory.” Review of International Studies 30 (2): 289–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilkins, Thomas S. 2012. “‘Alignment,’ not ‘Alliance’ – the Shifting Paradigm of International Security Cooperation: Toward a Conceptual Taxonomy of Alignment.” Review of International Studies 38 (1): 53–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar