Free riding

Definition

Free riding in the context of international law and organizations refers to a situation where one or more countries benefit from the efforts or resources provided by other countries without contributing or sharing the cost themselves. It often poses a challenge to global governance as it can lead to underprovision of public goods and collective action problems.

Related terms

Collective Action Problem: A situation where individuals' or countries' self-interested behavior leads to suboptimal outcomes for the group as a whole because they fail to cooperate.

Public Goods: Goods that are non-excludable and non-rivalrous, meaning no one can be excluded from their benefits and one person's use does not reduce availability for others, such as clean air or national defense.

Global Governance: The cooperation among nations through established international norms and agreements intended to manage global issues and promote collective action