Friendship between Nations and the Theory of International Public Goods: A Balancing Act between Minilateralism and Multilateralism

This investigation has the purpose of showing that given the fragmentation of classic multilateralism in the context of international law of trade and politics, an emerging minilateralism that provides international relations with a new and fair context is juridically and morally acceptable as long as human dignity can be deemed both a value and a source of law. By means of a dogmatic and hermeneutic methodology, and once the features of the tension between multilateralism and minilateralism, the theory of public goods, and the use of some tools of law and economics have been presented, it is discovered that States and their representatives continuously engage in calculations in order to obtain and preserve what they consider good and beneficial, and it is concluded that a balance between minilateralism and multilateralism can be achieved.