bilateraliseen

Bilateralism refers to a principle or practice that involves or affects two sides. In diplomacy and international relations, it commonly denotes agreements or negotiations between two countries. Such treaties or pacts are distinct from multilateral agreements, which involve three or more parties. Bilateral relations can encompass a wide range of issues, including trade, defense, cultural exchange, and political cooperation.

The concept also appears in other contexts. In law, a bilateral contract is one where both parties exchange promises, creating mutual obligations. For example, a sales contract where one party agrees to sell goods and the other agrees to pay for them is bilateral. In biology, bilateral symmetry describes an organism that can be divided into two mirror-image halves along a single plane. Many animals exhibit this type of symmetry, including humans, insects, and fish. In medicine, a bilateral condition affects both sides of the body, such as bilateral pneumonia or bilateral hearing loss. Understanding the context is key to interpreting the meaning of "bilateral".