Groupings

In international relations and multilateral diplomacy, groupings refer to coalitions of states — sometimes institutionalized, sometimes ad hoc — that align to negotiate jointly within bodies like the United Nations, the WTO, or climate conferences. Groupings allow smaller or middle powers to pool diplomatic weight, share drafting burdens, and present unified positions during negotiations on resolutions, treaties, or declarations.

Groupings vary widely in formality and cohesion:

• Regional groupings such as the African Group, the Asia-Pacific Group, the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (GRULAC), the Eastern European Group, and the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) structure UN electoral slates and rotational seats on bodies like the Security Council and Human Rights Council.
• Political and economic groupings include the Group of 77 (G77), founded in 1964 by 77 developing countries at UNCTAD, which now has 134 members and coordinates on development and economic issues; the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), established in Belgrade in 1961; and the BRICS bloc.
• Issue-based groupings form around specific negotiations. In UN climate talks, the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group, the Umbrella Group, and the Like-Minded Developing Countries each advance distinct positions. In the WTO, the Cairns Group coordinates agricultural exporters' interests.
• Cross-regional groupings like the OECD or the Commonwealth cut across geography to reflect shared political, economic, or historical ties.

For Model UN delegates, understanding groupings is essential: bloc dynamics often determine which amendments survive, which draft resolutions reach the floor, and which candidates win contested elections. Groupings rarely vote as monolithic blocs on every issue — members retain sovereignty and may break ranks — but they shape the opening positions and negotiating architecture of most multilateral processes. Recognizing which groupings a state belongs to, and where those memberships overlap or conflict, is a core analytical skill in diplomatic practice.