Scientific and technical knowledge is important in water negotiations, but not in the ways it has often been used. It is counterproductive to use scientific information to justify arbitrary (political) decisions. For example, scientific information about water has increased dramatically over the last several decades, but our ability to manage water resources has not improved … Read More 
When two parties are attempting to resolve a contentious dispute, the most effective peacemakers may be those at the highest levels. That’s the lesson from recent productive talks between President Obama and Afghan leader Hamid Karzai on the issue of rules for detaining terrorism suspects. … Read In Dispute Resolution, Try Going to the Top
How can you gain an edge when you’re in the seemingly weak position of negotiating a favor from a government or powerful bureaucracy? Present the other side with a draft agreement that authorizes or approves your request. Busy bureaucrats who lack a strong grasp of the details at hand are likely to seize on your … Read Why Busy People Like Drafts
Most difficulties in water negotiations are due to rigid assumptions about how water must be allocated. When countries (or states) share boundary waters, the presumption is that there is a fixed amount of water to divide among them, often in the face of ever-increasing demand and uncertain variability. Such assumptions lead to a zero-sum mindset, … Read More
Reuters photographer Finbarr O’Reilly and Dr. Bessel A. van der Kolk, Medical Director of the Boston Trauma Center, will discuss the emotional toll of war, how trauma affects brain and body alike, and what it takes to witness and narrate violent struggle in the world. … Read More
How important is body language to how you are perceived?
How about when you are debating national policy in front of millions of television viewers? … Read More
Negotiators often choose to resolve their conflicts through mediation, arbitration, and other alternative dispute resolution methods because of the privacy these methods promise. Unlike the public nature of litigation, mediation and arbitration typically give parties the freedom to hash out sensitive issues without the fear that their discussions and agreement will become public knowledge. Two … Read More
What happens in negotiations between two individuals who care little about each other’s outcomes? Suppose an engineer and an industrial designer are arguing over the design of a car bumper. The designer only cares about whether the bumper matches the style of the vehicle; the engineer is concerned only about how the bumper connects to … Read Business Negotiations: Cooperate to Claim Value
In recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Cuban Missile Crisis,
PON is pleased to present
Thirteen Days in the Age of Nuclear Threat: Negotiation Lessons for Peaceful Coexistence
with
Bruce Allyn
Author and Practitioner in the field of Conflict Resolution
and
Alain Lempereur
Professor of Coexistence and Conflict Resolution at Brandeis University
Thursday, October 25, 2012
5:30 pm
Langdell North, Room 225
Harvard Law School campus
About … Read More
Before launching a workaround, run through this list of skills-based strategies adopted from Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation by William Ury (Bantam, 1993). Only attempt a workaround if you’ve tried them all without success: … Read Try Skills-Based Strategies First
By following these tips in your next negotiation, you’ll improve the chances of meeting everyone’s interests. … Read A Value-Creation Checklist: Five Helpful Tips
Program on Negotiation Chair Robert Mnookin was honored by the International Academy of Mediators with a lifetime achievement award during the organization’s fall 2012 conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts. … Read More
