|
Introduction:
William
Zartman of the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies is
writing a book that is a compilation of advice for new negotiators. Here he gives
some preliminary highlights from that compilation that include how to prepare
for negotiations and how to analyze a conflict.
He also makes a reference to seeking out other conflicts that resemble the
one being dealt with in order to get a fresh perspective on possible solutions.
Mari Fitzduff calls this type of comparison a "knowledge
intervention."
| |
This rough transcript provides a text alternative to audio. We apologize for occasional errors and unintelligible sections (which are marked with ???).
Negotiation Preparation and Conflict Analysis
William Zartman
Jacob Blaustein Professor of International Organizations and Conflict Resolution
and Director of Conflict Management at the School of Advanced International
Studies, Johns Hopkins University
| |
A: Be clear about the facts of the situation, is one that comes up very
often. Keep your eye on the ball of your goal. And at the same time, be aware of
the other parties' goals, third. Then fourth, try to find a way in which you can
find the 2 goals compatible rather than looking at them as competing with each
other. Reframe if necessary or compensate rather than looking at relative gains,
that is, zero sum types of outcomes where your goals can only be achieved at the
expense of the other. Those are some to begin with.
Q: That first one, about being clear about the facts, who's facts?
A: Be aware of the facts as seen by both sides. One of the things that I
think is importantÂ… I need to step back a sentence. Formulation takes place
within a 3-phase understanding of negotiation, which begins with Diagnosis, then
Formulation and then getting to details and things. Diagnosis means asking what
kind of conflict is this and what are the facts about this conflict? Then asking
each of these questions about both my side and then the other side, so what is the
other side as what kind of conflict this is? And here is another piece I think
is important for negotiators, what is this conflict like? I think people who get
locked up in the idiosyncrasies of the conflict see very clearly how you
couldn't possibly get out of it. Its only people who look at conflicts in a
comparable way are able to see how other conflicts like this provided some way
out. Some kind of suggestions of solutions that may not have or may have worked,
one may ask, what paths should we not pursue, and what paths should we pursue?
What is this conflict like? What precedence are there for solving conflicts like
this one? All these are a part of the bundle of facts of understanding of a
conflict, and I also mean that the technical facts. If this is a conflict about
borders then, what's the terrain like? What are the operative international
treaties? What's international law that governs borders? What can you really do
on the ground? Where is that river? And so on.
|
