Home › Political Science & Governance › State Sovereignty & Statecraft › bilateral

bilateral

by-LAT-er-ul baɪˈlætərəl

adjectiveB2GRESATTOEFL

formalacademic

Involving or agreed upon by two parties, nations, or factions.

Specifically denotes a direct two-way arrangement, distinct from unilateral or multilateral actions.

The story behind the word. Derived from Latin 'bi-' meaning 'two' and 'latus' meaning 'side'. It literally translates to 'having two sides', entering modern legal and diplomatic English to distinguish two-party treaties from broad global compacts.

Word relationships

two-sided: Two-sided is a common term; bilateral is the formal legal and political designation.
reciprocal: Reciprocal describes mutual actions; bilateral specifically describes a structure involving two parties.

unilateral: Unilateral describes actions taken by one side alone without consensus.
multilateral: Multilateral describes actions involving three or more sovereign states.

Commonly confused with

multilateral: Multilateral involves many countries; bilateral involves strictly two countries.

Word family

bilaterally (adverb): In a manner affecting or agreed upon by two parties.

Collocations

bilateral agreement
bilateral treaty
bilateral relations
bilateral talks

Example sentences

"The two neighboring countries signed a bilateral agreement to lower tariff barriers." International Trade
"The countries held bilateral military talks to secure shared maritime corridors." Defense Policy

Memory hook

BI (two) + LATERAL (sides) = Two-sided agreement. Bilateral = Two sides collaborating.

When not to use

Do not use for arrangements involving three or more nations (use multilateral instead).

Fun facts

Bilateral trade agreements can often be negotiated much faster than multilateral WTO treaties.