The Analysis of International Regimes, Towards a European-American Research Programme

Abstract The concept of international regimes originated not from social scientists’ urge to invent new terms for their own sake, but as a way to understand international co-operation, defined as co-ordinated mutual adjustment of states’ policies yielding benefits to participants. Systematically organized co-operation is extensive in world politics; yet very few rules are hierarchically enforced. Rather, most co operation appears to be organized horizontally rather than vertically, through the practice of reciprocity. Specific agreements are embedded in a multi-layered system in which agreements are ‘nested’ within a more comprehensive set of agreed-upon rules. Understanding the formation and impact of these systems of rules is therefore essential for an appreciation of the conditions under which international co-operation could occur (Keohane 1983: 150).