Dr. William M. Downs

Department of Political Science

Georgia State University

Email: polwmd@panther.gsu.edu

COURSE OBJECTIVES: Negotiation and conflict resolution are central elements of the political process, whether in international diplomacy, collective bargaining in labor disputes, post-election formation of coalition governments, or administrative budgeting. Conflict is indeed an inevitable part of political life. The task on both theoretical and practical levels, however, is to understand how conflict can best be managed. In terms of practical politics the consequences of negotiations can be of supreme importance and are readily apparent; for example, we need only cite nuclear nonproliferation agreements, government intercession in wage talks, legislative coalition building, NATO expansion, the Dayton peace accords, or Kofi Annan's mediation in Iraq to recognize such salience. The theoretical issues behind real world negotiations are equally weighty: How important is process? How do one-shot negotiations differ from iterative bargaining sequences? Are positive-sum solutions possible in supposedly zero-sum political settings? How do different relative power (im)balances alter the stakes and strategies of negotiations? In comparing the most popular and powerful models of negotiation effectiveness, the course will encompass the changes and rich methodological variety of research in the negotiation field. Among the topics to be addressed will be the following: power in negotiations, strategies and tactics of both distributive and integrative bargaining, coalition building, interdependence, international bargaining, third-party interventions, bargaining failure, and negotiation ethics. By the end of the course, you should be much better able to analyze negotiations as they occur in a variety of political settings; moreover, by extension you should actually find yourself a more reflective, analytically savvy, and thus more effective negotiator.

TEXTS AND READINGS:

Roy J. Lewicki et al. Negotiation (2nd edition). Burr Ridge, Illinois: Irwin, 1994.

Roger Fisher et al. Coping with International Conflict: A Systematic Approach to Influence in International Negotiation. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1997.

Guy Oliver Faure and Jeffrey Z. Rubin, eds. Culture and Negotiation: The Resolution of Water Disputes. London: Sage, 1993.

Conor O'Cleary. Daring Diplomacy: Clinton's Secret Search for Peace in Ireland. Roberts Rinehart: 1997.

H. Peyton Young, ed. Negotiation Analysis. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991.

Notes on Articles and Chapters: Additional readings will come from select journal articles and book chapters, which will be made available to you. Please note that I reserve the right to add or delete reading assignments as the course develops.

COURSE REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING SYSTEM

Students will be evaluated along four dimensions. The bulk (60%) of your grade will be determined by a final exam and a research paper. The remaining 40% will be determined by regular and active class participation and scores on two written assignments. [Because this is a mixed class (undergraduate students and graduate students, it is important to note that undergraduates are not being evaluated in comparison to the performance of graduate students!]

Attendance. This is a lecture-discussion course. Students are thus expected to attend all class sessions.

Class Participation. Students must complete the assigned readings on time and actively participate in class discussions. Because the study of negotiation is most exciting when actual cases from the real political world are used illustrate key analytical points, students should follow current events through the reading of a major national newspaper, such as the New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, or the Wall Street Journal. Regular reading of news magazines such as The Economist, Time, Newsweek, or US News and World Report is also recommended. All these papers are available for free on the World Wide Web.

Group Assignments. Students will periodically be paired and assigned the responsibility of preparing a set of discussion questions to guide the group's review and debate of the literature being read for that session.

Written Assignments. There will be two short essay assignments.

(a) Case analysis of environmental disputes--the Faure and Rubin book on Culture and Negotiation includes 6 chapters detailing conflict resolution. Students will select one of the cases and then will write an essay (approximately 1250 words in length) analyzing the link between culture and negotiation in the context of the particular conflict.

(b) Review Essay: Students will write a second paper (again approximately 1250 words in length) during the course of the quarter. This essay will address a question or set of questions posed by the professor in association with the reading being discussed for that particular week. Assignments will be staggered so that several essays will be prepared each week.

Research Paper. An original research paper addressing one of the areas emphasized in this seminar is required and due at the end of the quarter (Friday, June 5 at 5:00). We will discuss the specifics of this project early in the Quarter. You should use the paper as an opportunity to explore an aspect of negotiations of interest to you. I am flexible about paper topics. You might examine an important historical negotiation, review the literature regarding a particular aspect of negotiation behavior, do your own experiment regarding negotiation behavior, analyze data with some particular hypothesis in mind, compare formal analyses of the negotiation process and real-world behavior, etc. It is more important that you are genuinely curious about the topic of your paper than whether it fits nicely into any particular category.

Examination. A comprehensive final exam will constitute 30% of each student's grade. Material discussed in class as well as material covered in required readings will appear on the exam.

Grade.

The final seminar grade will be determined on the basis of the following weights:

Paper Assignment 1 10%

Paper Assignment 2 10%

Participation 10%

Group Presentation 10%

Research Paper 30%

Exam 30%

Week 1:

March 31 INTRODUCTION TO STUDY AND ANALYSIS OF NEGOTIATION

April 2 Framing Issues and Actors in Negotiations

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 1

Dean G. Pruitt, "Trends in the Scientific Study of Negotiation and Mediation," Negotiation Journal (July 1986): 237-244.

John S. Murray, "Understanding Competing Theories of Negotiation," Negotiation Journal (April 1986): 179-186.

Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis, Chapter 1: "Negotiation Analysis"

Week 2:

April 7 Interdependence, Mixed Motives, and Strategic Choice

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 2

Fisher et al., Coping with International Conflict, Chapters 1-4

Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis, Chapter 6: "Negotiator Rationality and Negotiator Cognition: The Interactive Roles of Prescriptive and Descriptive Research"

Christer, Jönsson, "A Cognitive Approach to International Negotiation," European Journal of Political Research (June 1983): 139-150.



April 9 Distributive or "Win-Lose" Bargaining

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 3

David Jacobs, "Polish Solidarity and Transformational Bargaining," Negotiation Journal (April 1992): 165-171.

Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis, Chapter 5: "Conflictual Moves in Bargaining: Warnings, Threats, Escalations, and Ultimatums"

Week 3:

April 14 Integrative or "Win-Win" Bargaining

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapters 4-5

Fisher et al., Coping with International Conflict, Chapters 5-7

Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis, Chapter 7: "Structuring and Analyzing Values for Multiple-Issue Negotiations"

April 16 Negotiation Breakdown: When Bargaining Fails

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 6

Ivo H. Daalder, "Fear and Loathing in the Former Yugoslavia," in Michael E. Brown, ed., The International Dimensions of Internal Conflict (Cambridge: MIT Press, 1996).

Bryan M. Downie, "When Negotiations Fail: Causes of Breakdown and Tactics for Breaking the Stalemate," Negotiation Journal (April 1991): 175-186.

Arild Underdal, "Causes of Negotiation 'Failure,'" European Journal of Political Research (June 1983): 183-195.

Week 4:

April 21 Power in Negotiation

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 10

Fisher et al., Coping with International Conflict, Chapters 11-12

I. William Zartman, "Negotiating from Asymmetry: The North-South Stalemate," Negotiation Journal (1985):

Christer Jönsson, "Bargaining Power: Notes on an Elusive Concept," Cooperation and Conflict (1981): 249-257.

April 23 Ethics in Negotiation

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 13

Fisher et al., Coping with International Conflict, Chapter 15

Week 5:

April 28 Culture, Social Structure of Negotiation and Multilateral Bargaining

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 9

Faure and Rubin, Culture and Negotiation, Chapters 1-5

D.W. Carment and J.E. Alcock, "Indian and Canadian Behavior in Two-Person Power Games," Journal of Conflict Resolution, 28:3 (September 1984): 507-521.

April 30 Culture & Negotiation (II)

Faure and Rubin, Culture and Negotiation, Chapters 13-14

Student papers on select cases in Faure and Rubin, Culture and Negotiation (Chapters 6-12)

Week 6:

May 5: Communication and Persuasion Processes

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapters 7-8

Fisher et al., Coping with International Conflict, Chapters 8-9

May 7: Behavioral Approaches to Studying Individual Differences in Negotiations

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapters 11

Richard Christie, "The Machiavellis among Us," in Lewicki et al., eds., Negotiation: Readings, Exercises and Cases, 2^nd edition (Burr Ridge: Irwin, 1993).

Douglas Madsen, "Power Seekers are Different: Further Biochemical Evidence," American Political Science Review 80:1 (March 1986): 261-269.

Week 7:

May 12 Analytical Issues in Multilateral and International Negotiations

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapters 9 (pp. 237-291) and 14 (pp. 407-434)

Fen Osler Hampson, "Barriers to Negotiation and Requisites for Success," in Multilateral Negotiations (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1995).

May 14 Alliances, Coalition Theory and Negotiation

Fen Osler Hampson, "The GATT Uruguay Round, 1986-1993: The Setting and the Players," in Multilateral Negotiations (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1995).

Fen Osler Hampson, "The GATT Uruguay Round, 1986-1993: The Negotiations," in Multilateral Negotiations (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1995).

Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis, Chapter 8: "Thinking Coalitionally: Party Arithmetic, Process Opportunism, and Strategic Sequencing" (pp. 153-193).



Week 8:

May 19 Third-Party Intervention in Negotiations: Mediation

Lewicki et al., Negotiation, Chapter 12 (pp. 349-370)

Cameron R. Hume, "Perez de Cuellar and the Iran-Iraq War," Negotiation Journal (April 1992): 173-184.

Fen Osler Hampson, "The Stockholm Conference on Confidence- and Security-Building Measures and Disarmament in Europe," in Multilateral Negotiations (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1995).

Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis, Chapter 4: "Analysis of Incentives in Bargaining and Mediation" (pp. 67-85).

May 21 Third-Party Intervention in Negotiations: Arbitration

Steven J. Brams et al., "Arbitration Procedures," in Young, ed., Negotiation Analysis (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1991).

Week 9:

May 26 Case: Northern Ireland (I)

O'Cleary. Daring Diplomacy: Clinton's Secret Search for Peace in Ireland

May 28 Case: Northern Ireland (II)

O'Cleary. Daring Diplomacy: Clinton's Secret Search for Peace in Ireland

Week 10:

June 2 Case: European Community Enlargement and the United States

Case study materials to be distributed

June 5: Research paper due

Week 11:

June 9: Exam