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The fates of “transboundary” environmental systems depend on how nation states interact with one another. In the absence of a hegemon willing and able to coerce other states into avoiding a “tragedy of the commons,” shared environments will be safeguarded if international cooperation succeeds and degraded or even destroyed if it fails. Treaties and related institutions of international law give form to these efforts to cooperate. Often, they implore states to act in their collective (as opposed to their national) interests. Sometimes, they impel cooperating states to punish free riders. A few agreements coordinate states’ behavior. Here, I present simple game-theoretic models showing whether and how treaties and related institutions can change incentives, aligning states’ self-interests with their collective interests. I show that, as a general matter, states struggle to cooperate voluntarily and enforce agreements to cooperate but that they find it relatively easy to coordinate actions. In some cases, the need for coordination is manifest. In other cases, it requires strategic thinking. Coordination may fall short of supporting an ideal outcome, but it nearly always works better than the alternatives.

One of the most common forest disturbances, fire, has a significant influence on the people, societies, economies, and environment of countries all over the world. This study explores the different environmental and socioeconomic effects of forest fires to establish priorities for countries in battling and mitigating the harmful effects of forest fires based on data collected from 382 professionals working in Greece’s forestry and agriculture sectors. Secondary data, especially from Statista, were further utilized to enhance the analytical comparisons and conclusions of this study. Wildfires in Greece destroy agricultural land and greatly impact the rural economy and community. This study showed that forest fires have led to several economic costs, mainly affecting the incomes of different investors in the forest sector in Greece. It was revealed that the overall cost of a fire is determined by the direct and indirect expenditures as well as the price of fire control and preventative methods. Direct expenses are broken down into two categories: direct damage that occurs immediately and direct losses that are caused immediately after a fire. Governments should take the initiative to create and expand bilateral and/or multilateral cooperation and coordination, as well as exchange necessary financial resources, technology, and training, to reduce the effects of forest fires in a fragile international man-made and natural environment.

This paper examines multilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia (NEA) through the Greater Tumen Initiative (GTI) as a case of micro-regional cooperation. Drawing on functionalism and micro-regionalism, it explores how cooperation spillover from nonpolitical to political spheres can be facilitated by considering participant diversity, agenda comprehensiveness, and the complexity of cooperation. There is an overall positive trajectory of change as the GTI actively fosters cooperation spillover by expanding its committees and partnerships. However, in terms of committee activities, although its agendas demonstrate increasing comprehensiveness, participant diversity and collaboration complexity remain low in general. The partnerships are in their nascent stages of cooperation, exhibiting limited spillover, except for the NEA Local Cooperation Committee. Moreover, the challenge in evaluating accomplishments within the framework of the GTI arises from the apparent scarcity of discernible achievements. To revitalize multilateral cooperation, the GTI should enhance actor diversity, emphasizing private sector participation; broaden discussion agendas rather than exclusively focus on specific projects until institutional stability is established in cooperation; and enhance governance mechanisms and foster cooperation among internal organizations, currently vulnerable to disruptions, to ensure progressive and sustained collaborative efforts. Through these enhancements, it is anticipated that tangible outcomes will be uncovered and, ultimately, foster micro-regional multilateral cooperation that can significantly contribute to peace and prosperity in the Northeast Asia region.

This study explores the evolution of Czechoslovak Military Intelligence cooperation within the framework of the Warsaw Pact, utilizing Jennifer E. Sims’ intelligence liaison model as a theoretical lens. The analysis reveals that early cooperation was bilateral, progressing toward a structured multilateral framework by the 1960s. A significant milestone occurred in 1964 with the institutionalization of annual conferences for military intelligence chiefs, facilitating exchanges of intelligence across multiple domains. Collaboration included sharing intelligence data, operational experiences, education, and joint exercises. While relations with East Germany, Poland, and Hungary were largely symmetrical, cooperation with Bulgaria was notably asymmetric. The hierarchical relationship with Soviet military intelligence, characterized by imbalanced information flows, underscores the influence of geopolitical dynamics. By the 1980s, intelligence cooperation was increasingly standardized and supported by automated processes. This research highlights the transition from bilateral to multilateral cooperation, demonstrating how political and strategic factors shaped intelligence interactions within the Warsaw Pact.

The illegal wildlife trade is driving biodiversity declines worldwide, yet its role in transporting alien species with a high likelihood of establishment is seldom considered. We demonstrate the threat posed by the illegal reptile trade in Australia. We modeled the establishment success of alien reptiles in Australia, revealing the importance of both minimum number of release events and the body length of the species. Using our model, we screened 28 alien reptiles illegally traded in Victoria, Australia. Establishment risk varied widely across species, and a whole‐pathway analysis revealed that 5 out of the 28 species (17.9%) are likely to become established if released. The global dimension of the illegal wildlife trade calls for a tight transnational collaboration, via multilateral cooperation agreements arranging the share of resources. Complementary to this, we encourage conducting campaigns to raise public awareness about the risk and legal consequences of participating in the wildlife black market.

This article demonstrates that Japan has become the unassuming leader of multilateral security cooperation in the western Pacific and the local partner of choice for extraregional powers seeking to expand their role in maritime affairs within the second island chain. MAIN ARGUMENT After a 50-year history of delivering carefully balanced initiatives aimed at improving the maritime safety and security of Southeast Asian states, Japan has earned the region’s trust as a maritime partner. From this position, it has steadily supported multilateral cooperation throughout the region and emerged as the western Pacific’s most important maritime leader. Now, as extraregional powers seek to expand their roles in the western Pacific, they are generally turning to Japan as their partner of choice. Japan’s Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP) vision offers a common strategic umbrella that provides attractive utility for these states. An analysis of these trajectories shows that Japan has become the key regional maritime partner for Australia, the United Kingdom, India, Canada, and France. POLICY IMPLICATIONS • Japan’s proactive, balanced, and unassuming approach to security partnerships has earned it favor as the most trusted security partner among Southeast Asian states. • Japan leads by example by quietly facilitating multinational arrangements and lending reliable support to states and multilateral groups in the region. • The FOIP concept has become a common element of extraregional powers’ policy approaches toward the western Pacific. The varied FOIP conceptualizations employed by these states are generally more akin to Japan’s approach than to the U.S. Indo-Pacific posture, which is regarded as more focused on military aspects. • Japan’s expanded efforts to build its bilateral security partnerships have been favorably received by powers outside the region, making it their partner of choice in the western Pacific.

Many countries of the world are suffering from the adverse consequences of water scarcity. The United Nations has estimated that, by the middle of the present century, about 7 billion people in 48 countries, mostly from Southwest Asia, will encounter water scarcity. This may be expedited by the adverse consequences of climate change and global warming which would escalate the risk of war and conflict over transboundary resources. The present research explores the ways water diplomacy can mitigate the dire effects of water scarcity and promote “treaty making” and “institution building” as well as multilateral cooperation on shared waters. The focus is on Iran’s water diplomacy with neighboring countries over transboundary resources to forge cooperation and hamper conflict. Our findings suggest that Iran’s water diplomacy is constructed on principles of “goodwill and cooperation,” “non-significant harm,” “environmental protection,” and “exchange of data and information” on shared water resources with its neighboring riparian states. Such a model, which has resulted in no dispute between Iran and some of its neighbors such as Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Armenia in recent years, demonstrates the broader benefits of Iran’s approach to water diplomacy and paves the way for stronger cooperation in other areas of mutual interest. Additionally, it encourages multilateral engagement and “hydrosolidarity” within the framework of agreements and the formation of joint “water commissions” for the equitable and reasonable distribution of water among riparian states in line with the 1997 UN Watercourses Convention. Muchos países del mundo están sufriendo las consecuencias adversas de la escasez de agua. Las Naciones Unidas han estimado que, a mediados del presente siglo, alrededor de siete mil millones de personas en 48 países, en su mayoría del sureste de Asia, enfrentarán escasez de agua. Esto puede verse acelerado por las consecuencias adversas del cambio climático y el calentamiento global que aumentarían el riesgo de guerra y conflicto por los recursos transfronterizos. La presente investigación explora las formas en que la diplomacia del agua puede mitigar los efectos nefastos de la escasez de agua y promover la “realización de tratados” y la “construcción de instituciones,” así como la cooperación multilateral en aguas compartidas. La atención se centra en la diplomacia del agua de Irán con los países vecinos sobre los recursos transfronterizos para forjar la cooperación y obstaculizar el conflicto. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que la diplomacia del agua de Irán se basa en principios de “buena voluntad y cooperación,” “daño no significativo,” “protección Ambiental,” e “intercambio de datos e información” sobre recursos hídricos compartidos con sus estados ribereños vecinos. Tal modelo, que no ha dado lugar a disputas entre Irán y algunos de sus vecinos como Pakistán, Turkmenistán, y Armenia en los últimos años, demuestra los beneficios más amplios del enfoque de Irán en la diplomacia del agua y allana el camino para una cooperación más sólida en otras áreas de interes mutuo. Además, alienta el compromiso multilateral y la “hidrosolidaridad” en el marco de acuerdos y la formación de “comisiones de agua” conjuntas para la distribución equitativa y razonable del agua entre los estados ribereños en línea con la Convención de Cursos de Agua de la ONU de 1997. 许多国家正遭受水资源短缺的负面结果。据联合国预测，21世纪中叶将 有48个国家（大多数来自西南亚）的近70亿人口面临水危机。这可能因 气候变化和全球变暖的消极影响而提前到来，后者可能加剧跨边界资源 战争和冲突的风险。本研究探究了水外交能从哪些方式缓解水资源短缺 的严重影响并推动有关跨边界水资源的“条约制定”、“制度建立”以及多 边合作。重点聚焦于伊朗为促进合作和预防冲突而与邻国就跨边界资源 展开的水外交。我们的研究发现暗示，伊朗就与邻近河岸国家共享水资 源一事展开的水外交基于一系列原则，包括“友好与合作”、“不显著危 害”、“环境保护”和“数据信息互换”。这一模式使得近年来伊朗和部分邻 国（例如巴基斯坦、土库曼斯坦、亚美尼亚）之间未出现争端，证明了 伊朗水外交措施的广泛益处并为增强其他互惠领域合作一事打下基础。 此外，水外交鼓励在协议框架内进行多边参与和“水团结”，以及组建共 同的“水资源委员会”，以期按照1997年《国际水道非航行使用法公约》 公平合理地分配河岸国家的水资源。

Political corruption affects each nation-state differently, but the outcomes are nominally the same: a deficit of public trust, weakened government institutions and undermined political systems. This article analyzes issues of political corruption in Australia by framing them within a national integrity ecosystem (NIE) and addressing them against the proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) 2020 bill. It also discusses prevalent ‘grey’ areas of Australian politically-corrupt behavior where they interact with the private sector: the revolving door, political donations, and lobbying; and the state of Australia’s implementation of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. This article argues for their inclusion within the mandated scope of the proposed CIC. There is a need for strong legislation, both domestic and international, to fight corruption. This article then discusses the application of the provisions of the draft Anticorruption Protocol to the UN Convention Against Corruption (APUNCAC) that may apply with respect to these ‘grey’ issues, and how an International Anti-Corruption Court may provide another institutional model for Australia to follow. Finally, this article links these proposals to the 2021 UN General Assembly Special Session (UNGASS) on Corruption and the 9th Conference of States Parties on the UNCAC (COSP9). These events illustrate multilateral momentum and progress on anti-corruption. As a country that has historically supported the UN multilateral framework and its institutions, this article recommends a proactive approach for Australia so that the passing of a strong domestic anticorruption initiative will contribute to the adoption, and eventual ratification, of the APUNCAC.

Initiated in 2017 and formally established in 2020, the Multilateral Cooperation Center for Development Finance (MCDF) is the latest addition to the development finance landscape in Asia. This article provides an in-depth analysis of MCDFʼs potential to offer additionality in development finance and its political legitimacy by comparing it to 18 development finance and capacity-building organisations. The article finds that while the MCDF contributes to closing the substantial infrastructure financing gap in Asia, it risks overlapping with existing initiatives to such a degree that it may become an inefficient use of resources while lacking legitimacy as a multilateral organisation due to its unclear relationship with Chinaʼs Belt and Road Initiative. From this outset, and given the climate mandates of its multilateral development bank members, this article finds that if the MCDF focuses specifically on green and climate finance, it could carve out an area where it can become a much-needed new platform for project development and coordination.

Efforts to launder money and finance terrorism have been evolving rapidly in recent years in response to heightened countermeasures. The international community has witnessed the use of increasingly sophisticated methods to move illicit funds through financial systems across the globe and has acknowledged the need for improved multilateral cooperation to fight these criminal activities. This second edition is to serve as a single, comprehensive source of practical information for countries to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. It discusses the problems caused by these crimes, the specific actions countries need to take to address them and the role international organizations play in the process. The report is organized as follows: Part A of this Reference Guide describes the problem of money laundering and terrorist financing, their adverse consequences, and the benefits of an effective regime. It also identifies the relevant international standard-setting organizations and discusses their specific efforts and instruments that fight these activities. Part B describes the various elements that are part of a comprehensive legal and institutional framework for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism for any country. This part of the Reference Guide is a step-by-step approach to achieve compliance with international standards, although it does not dictate the specific methods or actions to be adopted. Rather, it raises the issues that must be addressed and discusses the options that a country has in order to resolve these issues. Part C describes the role of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the global effort and the coordination of technical assistance available to countries in order to help them achieve compliance with international standards. Each chapter is a self-contained discussion of the topics covered in that chapter with detailed references to background and original source materials. Annexes I, II and III provide complete citations to reference materials.