On the Nature and Future of Partnerships in the Practice of International Organizations

This contribution offers a brief analysis of partnerships among international institutions. It shows that there is a wide variety of forms of cooperation between international organizations and external entities in the current practice of international organizations. No single concept or term has emerged for such forms of cooperation. Some of these are called partnerships, others carry different names. It is argued that the need for international organizations to cooperate with external entities is likely to stay, that it may be expected that more partnerships—or whatever other name is used—will be established in the future, and that this is in principle a positive development.Exploring the Frontiers of International La