Multilateralism Robert O. Keohane

“The definition that is more consistent with ordinary usage conceives of multilateralism as institutionalized collective action by an inclusively determined set of independent states. Truly multilateral organizations are open to all states meeting specific criteria. The rules of multilateral organizations are publicly known and persist over a substantial period of time.”

Keohane, Robert O. (2006): “The contingent legitimacy of multilateralism”. In: Newmann, Edward; Thakur, Ramesh; Tirman, John (Hg.). Multilateralism under challenge? Power, international order, and structural change. Tokyo: United Nations University Press: 56.

“Multilateralism can be defined as the practice of co-ordinating national policies in groups of three or more states, through ad hoc arrangements or by means of institutions.”

Keohane, Robert O. (1990): “Multilateralism: An Agenda for Research”. In: International Journal 45(4), 731.

For Keohane, multilateralism in its basic minimal definition refers to inclusive, collective action by at least three independent states in a formal or informal institutional structure and thus deliberately does not presuppose further factors such as diffuse reciprocity between participating states (as opposed to, for example, John Ruggie).

Robert O. Keohane (* 1941 in the USA) is a professor emeritus of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University and a key figure in the development of liberal institutionalism.