Negotiating in Iraq: Lessons from Negotiations between US Soldiers and Iraqi Civilians
With David Tressler, Harvard Law School student (’06) and a Hewlett Research Fellow with the Harvard Negotiation Research Project.
Members of the U.S. military conduct thousands of negotiations with Iraqi civilians and their leaders to accomplish their mission of securing, stabilizing, and reconstructing Iraq. While a successful outcome in one negotiation may not be crucial, the aggregate success or failure of the U.S. military’s negotiations has a major impact on its ability to achieve its objectives in the country. As Iraq moves increasingly towards self-governance, negotiation plays an even larger role in the relationship between American forces and Iraqi government, tribal, religious, and community leaders.
This discussion will explore what these negotiations look like, what makes them unique, how U.S. soldiers view the negotiations, and what is needed to be successful when negotiating under the challenging circumstances that exist in Iraq. The presentation will also include discussion of the U.S. Army National Training Center’s negotiation training for soldiers preparing to deploy to Iraq.
Bring your lunch — drinks and dessert provided.
