Informal Efforts

Since the Seventies of last century, the evolution of the non-proliferation and arms control architecture has been characterized by the recourse to 'informal' efforts, along with legally binding treaties. In a field characterized by technological innovations, reasons of speed and flexibility contribute to explain why States have relied on voluntary commitments contained in non-binding documents in specific circumstances, on the assumption that hard law forms would carry more costs than benefits. The idea that informal initiatives among like-minded States would guarantee effectiveness permeated the origins of voluntary arrangements on export controls. Concerns were nonetheless expressed with respect to the transparency and accountability of informal regimes. In the post 9/11 era, the phenomenon of the 'coalitions of the willing' captures the strategies and the goals of the US administration in countering the threat of international terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction: not only does the concept identify informal coordination mechanisms of like-minded States but also a model of cooperation based on the voluntary adherence to non-binding principles.