Karakoç, Jülide2025-08-102025-08-102025Karakoç, J. (2025). Cooperation. Elgar Encyclopedia of International Relations, 64-65. 10.4337/9781035312283.0003297810353122839781035312276https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12939/5835Cooperation is generally defined as a policy coordination process in which various entities such as states, non-governmental organizations and international organizations modify their behaviour to satisfy existing or expected preferences of other involved parties in order to acquire mutual benefits. Cooperation has always been a central concept for international relations and has been discussed within various theoretical frameworks since the establishment of the International Relations (IR) discipline. This entry elucidates the concept of cooperation and its significance in IR. By acknowledging the historical context, the entry evaluates the outlook of the major IR theories on cooperation as well as its possibilities and restrictions. It concludes that the focus of the research on cooperation has shifted from analysing the possibilities of cooperation to distinguishing particular forms of cooperation and resolving specific cooperation problems.eninfo:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccessCooperationIndividual and shared goalsInterestsInternational relationsMutual benefitsPolicy coordinationBook Chapter10.4337/9781035312283.0003264652-s2.0-105005248654