Definition of international cooperation

The term cooperation can be defined as any "act of working together to one end".Cooperation and competition are, however, not opposites, as so loosely used in popular speech. In fact, the difference between competition and rivalry stems from the very fact that the former implies a certain level of cooperation, in order to maintain the "rules of the game". Moreover, in a social reality, the task of defining cooperation appears to be even more difficult, especially in the case of development cooperation, which is not only international, but usually also intercultural by character. When regarded as a mode of behaviour, what is cooperative in one culture, may be competitive in another, since the very goals of social action are culturally determined.

we can discern the field of collective action (i.e non-individual action), inside of which we have basically four categories of goal oriented action, as following:

1) In cooperation, there is a common goal, toward which the interaction is oriented, and which is shared by the actors;

2) In competition, the common goal is no more shared;

3) In assistance, there may be common goals, but the very action of giving aid is oriented towards helping the other part to realize his or her own goals;

4) In rivalry, the goal is to hinder another to gain his or her own goals.

 The concept of cooperation is contrasted to that of competition, concurrence or rivalry through which individuals, groups, entities, peoples, states or organizations seek to pursue their own objectives without taking into account the contribution and assistance of others entities in their realization. 

Cooperation is joint or collaborative behavior that is directed toward some goal and in which there is common interest or hope of reward.Cooperation may be voluntary or involuntary, direct or indirect, formal or informal, but always there is a combination of efforts toward a specific end in which all the participants have a stake,real or imagined”. This is why, “There is no limit to the potential range for cooperation; it is to be found in groups as small as the dyad and as large as leagues of sovereign states”. Thus,Cooperation encompass various fields and requires competencies in diverse domains, such as economy, politics, military, finance, development, religion, culture, education, tourism, etc.