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international negotiation

What is International Negotiation?

Parties engaged in international negotiation face tough problems when there is a lack a solid understanding of a counterpart’s culture.

Like any differences between groups, cultural differences are usually small, on average. Nonetheless, when we prepare for an international negotiation, we tend to overuse the stereotypes that arise from these small differences, and these stereotypes block us from noting important individuating information.

Cultural barriers to communication in negotiation don’t hinge precisely on where a negotiator happens to have been born. Rather, they depend on what that negotiator does at the bargaining table. The ability to engage in constructive communication – by revealing and interpreting information – matters much more than the negotiator’s passport.

When determining your international negotiation strategies, keep in mind that your strategies may need to be different from those you use at home.

It’s also worth noting that during an international negotiation, even when negotiators believe they sincerely want to reach an outcome that is fair to all, their perceptions of what constitutes a fair agreement are likely to be self-serving. As a result, they are likely to believe they deserve a greater share of a given resource than an unbiased observer would judge to be fair.

So how much emphasis should you place on culture when you’re preparing for an international negotiation? On the one hand, you don’t want to offend your counterpart with insensitive behavior. On the other hand, focusing too much on culture can backfire, especially if the other side is doing the same.

These six guidelines should help you strike the right balance:

  1. Consider the individual.
  2. Broaden your scope and adopt a more inclusive mindset.
  3. Work to build trust.
  4. Ask questions and share information.
  5. Demonstrate principles of good-faith bargaining.
  6. Do what you can to reduce stress at the bargaining table, whether by taking breaks or extending deadlines.

To learn more about international negotiation strategies, download this free report, International Negotiation: Cross-Cultural Communication Skills for International Business Executives, from Harvard Law School.

We will send you a download link to your copy of the report and notify you by email when we post new business negotiation advice and information on how to improve your dealmaking skills to our website.

 

The following items are tagged international negotiation:

Bidding in an International Business Negotiation: Euro-Idol

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Euro-Idol is a four-party, two-round international business negotiation over the selection of the host country and city for the upcoming Euro-Idol music competition. In this bidding simulation from the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC), cities must place bids to host the Euro-Idol competition, and therefore gain the economic benefits that come with hosting such a … Read More

Harvard Negotiation Master Class: Advanced Strategies for Experienced Negotiators – May 13–⁠15, 2024

Posted by & filed under Harvard Negotiation Master Class.

Strictly limited to 60 participants who have completed a prior course in negotiation, this first-of-its-kind program offers unprecedented access to experts from Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, and the Harvard Kennedy School—all of whom are committed to delivering a transformational learning experience. … Read More

Beyond the Back Table: Working with People and Organizations to Get to Yes

Posted by & filed under Beyond the Back Table.

NEW ONLINE PROGRAM! BEYOND THE BACK TABLE: WORKING WITH PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS TO GET TO YES March 13-14, 2024 | 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET

Go Beyond the Back Table In this two-day online course, you will step back to look beyond the negotiating table and discover how to understand and manage the individuals and groups who are not … Read More

Best Negotiators in History: Nelson Mandela and His Negotiation Style

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

The late Nelson Mandela will certainly be remembered as one of the best negotiators in history. He was clearly “the greatest negotiator of the twentieth century,” wrote Harvard Law School professor and former Program on Negotiation Chairman Robert H. Mnookin in his seminal book, Bargaining with the Devil, When to Negotiate, When to Fight. … Read More

Advice for Peace: Ending Civil War in Colombia

Posted by & filed under Great Negotiator Award, Pedagogy at PON, Teaching Negotiation.

Check out this freely available video of Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and his Peace Advisory Team as they discuss lessons learned from the Colombian peace process negotiations with the FARC guerrillas.   The civil war in Colombia lasted 52 years, taking the lives of at least 220,000 people and displacing up to seven million civilians. In … Read Advice for Peace: Ending Civil War in Colombia

Negotiation Case Studies: The Bangladesh Factory-Safety Agreements

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

We can learn a lot from negotiation case studies. On April 24, 2013 an eight-story building in Bangladesh known as Rana Plaza collapsed, killing an estimated 1,129 people, many of them low-wage garment workers who made goods for foreign companies. In the weeks after the disaster, apparel outsourcers faced mounting public pressure to address hazardous … Read More

What is the Multi-Door Courthouse Concept

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

As a collaboration between UST School of Law and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the following is the transcript of a conversation between the creator of the multi-door courthouse, Harvard Law Professor Frank E.A. Sander, and the executive director and founder of the University of St. Thomas (UST) International ADR [Alternative Dispute … Read What is the Multi-Door Courthouse Concept

International Negotiations and Agenda Setting: Controlling the Flow of the Negotiation Process

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

When two groups are embroiled in a conflict, it is common for the party with less power to have difficulty convincing the more powerful party to sit down at the negotiating table in international negotiations. In such cases, the more powerful player is likely to resist the notion of shaking up the status quo—and thus … Read More

A Top International Negotiation Case Study in Business: The Microsoft-Nokia Deal

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Let’s look at the international negotiation case study of Microsoft’s decision to purchase Finnish mobile phone company Nokia’s mobile device business for $9.5 billion. The deal, which closed in 2014, quickly proved disastrous: Microsoft wrote off nearly all of the deal’s value and laid off thousands of workers in July 2015. Although there were many … Read More

Cross Cultural Communication: Translation and Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

In previous international negotiation articles from cross cultural negotiation case studies, we have focused on how international negotiators can avoid cognitive biases and overcome cultural barriers. But how do negotiators dealing with counterparts that speak another language modify their negotiation techniques to accommodate for the lack of a common language? … Read More

Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator Case Studies

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

No one can provide perspective on conflict resolution like experts who have been involved in some of the world’s most complex negotiations. Since 2001, the Program on Negotiation (PON) has bestowed the Great Negotiator Award upon distinguished leaders whose lifelong accomplishments in the fields of negotiation and dispute resolution have had compelling and lasting results. The Great … Read More

Camp Lemonnier: Negotiating a Lease Agreement for a Key Military Base in Africa

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Camp Lemonnier is a United States Naval Expeditionary Base located in Djibouti and is the only permanent U.S. military base in Africa. Djibouti, bordering Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, has been home to Camp Lemonnier since the September 11, 2001 attacks prompted the United States to seek a temporary … Read More

High Stakes Negotiations in the Healthcare Industry

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Teach Your Students to Negotiate One of the Most Critical Global Industries With the COVID-19 pandemic devastating communities around the world, the acute importance of the healthcare industry to community welfare has become even more apparent. Healthcare is one of the biggest economies in the world, with billions of dollars spent on treatments and associated research. … Read More

Managing Cultural Differences in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

It’s important to educate yourself about your counterpart’s culture so that you don’t risk offending her or seeming unprepared. At the same time, it would be a mistake to focus too narrowly when preparing for cross-cultural communication in business. Research on international negotiation can help us think more broadly when it comes to managing cultural … Read Managing Cultural Differences in Negotiation

Planning Your Syllabus for Next Semester? Check Out the Brief Course Outlines from the TNRC

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Planning a new course for next semester or looking to reinvent a current one? Check out our brief course outlines to get started planning your syllabus. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) now offers brief outlines for eleven different course types which include recommended simulations and books and highlight key teaching points. While all teaching materials … Read More

International Negotiations and Cognitive Biases in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

In discussing international negotiations and cognitive biases in negotiation, professor Cheryl Rivers of Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, highlights in a negotiation research literature review, seasoned negotiators often hear stories about the unethical behaviors of people of other nationalities. Perhaps the toughest problems arise surrounding what Rivers calls “ethically ambiguous” negotiation tactics and … Read More

Dispute Resolution for India and Bangladesh

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Sometimes in international negotiation, disputes are left to fester for years, even decades, until parties decide there is something to be gained from reaching agreement. In an example of a cross cultural negotiation case study, the nations of Bangladesh and India seized on an opportunity to push the “restart” button on their bumpy relationship by … Read Dispute Resolution for India and Bangladesh

Negotiating Strategies for Navigating Sensitive Topics

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

When devising negotiating strategies, some topics seem off-limits: difficult to bring up and perhaps impossible to resolve. Consider the following anecdotes: – In the process of negotiating an acquisition that would include key personnel, members of the buyer’s team are concerned about rumors that a top executive from the target firm has a serious drinking problem … Read More

How to Overcome Cultural Barriers in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Imagine that you’re the American representative of a U.S. food company, and you’re hoping to procure a new ingredient for several of your products from a German company. A representative from the company is flying in to meet with you. Do you expect your German counterpart to behave differently than the Americans you typically deal … Read How to Overcome Cultural Barriers in Negotiation

Dear Negotiation Coach: Negotiation Interpreters Leave Space for Interpretation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Negotiators tend to view language interpreters as neutral in international negotiation, but reality is more complicated, according to Sanda Kaufman, a professor of Planning, Public Policy, and Administration at Cleveland State University who studies negotiation and intervention in urban, environmental, and organizational contexts. Fluent in four languages, Kaufman is also an experienced negotiation interpreter who … Read More

New International Negotiation Simulations: Teaching International Negotiation with Current Global Dynamics

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

With the spread of a global pandemic, climate crisis, and the war on terror, resolving international conflicts has become increasingly complex. Training to address these difficult global conflicts must also reflect the modern issues and dynamics that face the international community. The Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) has several new international negotiation simulations that reflect … Read More

Negotiating with Governments: How to Deal with Government Officials

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Whether at the local, federal, or international level, negotiations with governments often involve unique pressures and constraints. Does the official at the table actually have decision-making authority? What kinds of regulatory or policy constraints are they operating under? Governments often pursue very different interests in negotiations from those of a private company. In Seven Secrets for … Read More

The Abraham Path: A Thousand Miles on Foot

Posted by & filed under Abraham Path Initiative, Teaching Negotiation.

The Abraham Path is a cultural route tracing Abraham’s footsteps across the present-day Middle East. The path offers hikers the opportunity to engage with the peoples and landscapes of the region firsthand, and to see the region from a new perspective. The path offers an intriguing case of very challenging, long-term negotiations to establish a contiguous … Read The Abraham Path: A Thousand Miles on Foot

Lessons learned from a great negotiation leader

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Leadership in negotiation In academia, there are often subtle conflicts between the executive staff who run programs and centers, and the academics connected to them. Only a talented leader can consistently weave together such groups and integrate very different views. Susan has been such a leader for many years. She provides a vision of doing all we … Read Lessons learned from a great negotiation leader

Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Negotiation: China and the Gold Rush Mentality

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

If Chinese culture favors insiders, it stands to reason that outsiders face an uphill battle. In One Billion Customers: Lessons from the Front Lines of Doing Business in China (Free Press, 2005), business executive and Wall Street Journal bureau chief James McGregor writes of the 1996 attempt by Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, to … Read More

In Conflict Resolution, President Carter Turned Flaws Into Virtues

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

When it comes to conflict resolution, surprisingly useful nuggets of advice come from the realm of international conflict. Take the Camp David Accords of 1978, as described minute-by-minute by Lawrence Wright in his new book, Thirteen Days in September. U.S. President Jimmy Carter made history by negotiating a peaceful end to the conflict between Israel … Read More

Overcoming Cross-Cultural Barriers to a Negotiated Agreement: Negotiation Ethics and International Negotiations

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Cross cultural negotiation examples provide insights into how negotiation techniques change depending on the context in which negotiators find themselves. As Professor Cheryl Rivers of Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia, points out in a recent negotiation research literature review, seasoned negotiators often hear stories about the unethical behaviors of people of other nationalities. … Read More

International Negotiation Role Playing: Understanding the Theory and Practice of Systemic Peacebuilding

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

Policymakers, practitioners, and academics have seized on the need for peacebuilding negotiation strategies in international negotiation to be as complex and adaptive as the societies within which they work. As a result, there are loud calls for “whole of government” or “whole of community” approaches that cross traditional sectoral boundaries.  The problem is that these approaches are … Read More

A Crisis Negotiations Case Study: Chen Guangcheng, the United States, China, and Diplomatic Negotiations

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s indirect approach to diplomatic negotiations with the People’s Republic of China over political dissdent Chen Guangcheng demonstrates the power of adaptability at the bargaining table, especially when dealing with a counterpart from a different culture or who may speak a different language. … Read More

New Simulation on Science Diplomacy

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Teach Your Students to Incorporate Scientific Findings into International Policy Decisions Science diplomacy elevates the role of science and technology in addressing global challenges. While science diplomacy has a long history of bringing nations together through sharing technological innovations, it has becoming increasingly important in the face of global pandemic, and as climate change and environmental … Read New Simulation on Science Diplomacy

Ask a Negotiation Expert: Reaching Across the Divide

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

In our era of political polarization, collaboration and compromise can seem like impossible goals within our governments and our own communities. In his book Negotiating the Nonnegotiable: How to Resolve Your Most Emotionally Charged Conflicts (Viking, 2016), Harvard International Negotiation Program founder and director Daniel L. Shapiro describes how we can start to move beyond … Read More

Negotiation Skills: Reducing Political Polarization

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Excerpted from the June issue of the Negotiation Briefings newsletter, a publication of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. In our era of political polarization, collaboration and compromise can seem like impossible goals within our governments and our own communities. In his book Negotiating the Nonnegotiable: How to Resolve Your Most Emotionally Charged … Read More

Check Out Video Highlights from the 2019 Negotiation Pedagogy Conference

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

On November 15th, 2019, the Teaching Negotiation Resource Center (TNRC) hosted a conference on excellence and innovation in negotiation pedagogy. Negotiation and dispute resolution teachers and trainers from around the world came to Cambridge to learn about new approaches and share their experiences. Speakers at the conference spotlighted innovative instructional techniques in many diverse fields of … Read More

Political Negotiation and Beyond: How (and How Not) to Make Threats

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

What do you do when the other party won’t give you what you want in negotiation? If you’re U.S. president Donald Trump, there’s one tactic you’ll employ almost every time: Make a threat. Trump is the only president in U.S. history to rely so heavily on threats in political negotiation and beyond, according to Gettysburg College … Read More

Successes & Messes: Sending a strong message on trade

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

For years, Donald Trump has complained that the United States is getting a raw deal in international trade negotiations. As president, he has tried to improve U.S. trade partnerships in different ways, with mixed results: Trump withdrew the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership entirely, renegotiated changes to NAFTA with Canada and Mexico, imposed punitive tariffs … Read More

Fundamental Aspects of Negotiation: Setting the Table

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

In March 2018, U.S. president Donald Trump shocked even his own White House staff when he revealed that he had accepted an invitation to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. After months of name-calling and threats between Trump and Kim, the news that the two leaders would discuss the possibility of North Korea dismantling … Read More

International Negotiation Strategies

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Negotiation researchers have reached many fascinating discoveries about how people negotiate, such as uncovering flaws in our decision making and identifying useful persuasion techniques. But a great deal of this research has been conducted in Western cultures, and particularly the United States, leaving open the question of whether the results—and the advice they inspire—apply across … Read International Negotiation Strategies

Intercultural Negotiation: Does the BATNA Concept Translate?

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

When should you walk away in negotiation? That’s a common question that negotiation experts pose of professional negotiators. We are typically advised to walk away from the bargaining table when we haven’t been able to get a better deal than we can get elsewhere. But in intercultural negotiation, particularly in international negotiation in certain countries … Read More

Teach Your Students Cross-Cultural Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

As our world grows increasingly interconnected, we are more likely to find ourselves negotiating in a cross-cultural context. The diverse makeup of many societies and global nature of business today make cross-cultural negotiation a regular part of life. Also, unfortunately, many major disputes in need of resolution cross ethnic and cultural lines. Furthermore, it is important … Read Teach Your Students Cross-Cultural Negotiation

Managing Cultural Differences in Negotiation

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

It’s important to educate yourself about your counterpart’s culture so that you don’t risk offending her or seeming unprepared. At the same time, it would be a mistake to focus too narrowly when preparing for cross-cultural communication in business. Research on international negotiation can help us think more broadly when it comes to managing cultural … Read Managing Cultural Differences in Negotiation

Thoughts from Dan Shapiro, Director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program, on the Government Shutdown

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

This week, Dan Shapiro, Director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program, was quoted in The Christian Science Monitor speaking President Trump’s negotiation style, and how he may get better results through interest-based negotiation. “The basic idea here is, let’s not focus on positions, or what each side says they want: ‘I want a wall;’ ‘Well, we’re … Read More

Kissinger the Negotiator: New Book on Dealmaking and Diplomacy

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Level In this groundbreaking, definitive guide to the art of negotiation, PON faculty James Sebenius (Harvard Business School) and Robert Mnookin (Harvard Law School), along with R. Nicholas Burns of the Harvard Kennedy School, offer a comprehensive examination of one of the most successful dealmakers of all time: Henry Kissinger. Politicians, … Read More

Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

No one can provide perspective on conflict resolution like experts who have been involved in some of the world’s most complex negotiations. Since 2001, the Program on Negotiation (PON) has bestowed the Great Negotiator Award upon distinguished leaders whose lifelong accomplishments in the fields of negotiation and dispute resolution have had compelling and lasting results. The Great … Read Learn from the Best with the Great Negotiator

Teach Your Students to Negotiate the Principal-Agent Relationship with Fie’s Agent

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

Negotiate International Sports Contracts In many business negotiations, especially those involving athletes, you will find an agent negotiating on behalf of the principal party. This unique principal-agent relationship can cause challenges at the negotiating table. The agent may have different preferences from their principal party. Agents may also have different incentives from the principal. Agents may … Read More

Negotiate International Energy Contracts with ENCO

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

ENCO: Negotiating International Contracts in the Face of Political Instability Negotiating international contracts can be tricky, and unstable, especially when governments are parties in the negotiation. ENCO is a Texas-based power company that has begun to move aggressively into emerging markets. The Indian government has approached ENCO to build an electrical generating plant to increase the power … Read More

Announcing the 2017 PON Summer Fellows

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Daily, Summer Fellowship Grants.

PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, nonprofit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between scholarship and practice in negotiation and … Read Announcing the 2017 PON Summer Fellows

How to Overcome Cultural Barriers to Communication in International Negotiations

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

How to overcome cultural barriers to communication: As members of organizations and families, we all know from experience that even people with identical backgrounds can have vastly different negotiating styles and values. Nonetheless, we continue to be intrigued by the idea that distinct patterns emerge between negotiators from different cultures. … Read More

Diplomatic Negotiations to Build a Winning Coalition to Negotiate with Iran

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany were able to arrive at a negotiated agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran to curtail its nuclear weapons development program. Read this article to find out what diplomatic negotiation strategies were employed by the representatives from the bargaining countries and how they impacted … Read More

International Negotiation Skills: Before Apologizing, Consider the Culture

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

In 2004, after Japanese regulators shut down Citigroup’s private bank in the country for breaking numerous laws, then-CEO Charles O. Prince made headlines by traveling to Japan, bowing deeply before television cameras, and apologizing for his firm’s mistakes. As unusual as it seemed in American eyes, the public apology was widely seen in Japan as … Read More

PON Faculty Daniel Shapiro Named One of the 15 Best Professors at Harvard College by the Harvard Crimson’s Fifteen Minutes Magazine

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

The Harvard Crimson’s Fifteen Minutes magazine recently honored Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School faculty member Daniel Shapiro as one of the 15 best professors at Harvard College. Director of the Harvard International Negotiation Program and Associate Professor in Psychology at Harvard Medical School, Professor Shapiro is the author of Negotiating the Nonnegotiable: How … Read More

World in Crisis! One of the Most Immersive and Rewarding Negotiation Games Ever Created

Posted by & filed under Teaching Negotiation.

This negotiation simulation comprised “the most intense, challenging and educational days of my life” reported one participant. What sort of experience could possibly elicit such a comment? One of the most immersive and rewarding negotiation games ever developed: a 72-party mega-simulation called the Transition Exercise!

The Transition (Excercise Trailer) from MediaTank on Vimeo. This one-of-a-kind, intensive, multi-party … Read More

Overcoming Cultural Barriers in Negotiations: The Importance of Culture and Etiquette in Bargaining Scenarios

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

Learn how and when to engage in appropriate cultural traditions when negotiating with counterparts from a different culture. In this article we offer negotiation tips for overcoming cultural barriers in negotiation and present additional articles drawn from negotiation research that may be of benefit to negotiators who need to improve their international negotiation skills. … Read More

Bridging the Religious Divide: Transforming Conflict when Emotions and Religion are at Play

Posted by & filed under Daily, Events, Middle East Negotiation Initiatives.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Harvard International Negotiation Program, and the Religions and the Practice of Peace Colloquium are pleased to host: Bridging the Religious Divide: Transforming Conflict when Emotions and Religion are at Play

with

Daniel L. Shapiro Director, Harvard International Negotiation Program Associate Professor of Psychology, Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital and

Rev. Septemmy E. Lakawa Research Associate … Read More

Announcing the 2015 PON Summer Fellows

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Daily, Summer Fellowship Grants.

About the PON Summer Fellowship Program: PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between scholarship … Read Announcing the 2015 PON Summer Fellows

Announcing the 2015-2016 PON Graduate Research Fellows

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Daily, Graduate Research Fellowships, PON Graduate Research Fellowships.

The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with the PON goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of … Read More

New Findings in the Field of Negotiation: Session Two

Posted by & filed under Daily, Events.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School is pleased to present: New Findings in the Field of Negotiation: Research from the PON Graduate Research Fellows with

Arvid Bell PhD Candidate in political science at Goethe University Frankfurt and

Dana Wolf PhD candidate in public international law at American University Washington College of Law and

Todd Schenk PhD candidate in environmental policy and planning at Massachusetts Institute of Technology   Tuesday, … Read More

Fostering Cultural Intelligence in International Negotiations

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation.

In a Harvard Business Review article, P. Christopher Earley and Elaine Mosakowski describe the value of improving your cultural intelligence, or the ability to make sense of unfamiliar contexts and adapt to them. Some people are naturally skilled at determining whether a person’s behavior is unique to him or determined by his culture. For others, … Read More

Student Opportunity: Harvard International Negotiation Crisis Simulation

Posted by & filed under Daily, Events.

The Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, the Gleitsman Program for Leadership on Social Change at the Center for Public Leadership, the Harvard Kennedy School Negotiation Project, and the Belfer Center’s Future of Diplomacy Project are pleased to announce: Registration Is Now Open for the 1st Annual Harvard International Negotiation Crisis Simulation

  Application: Undergraduates, graduates, and PhD students from … Read More

For Conflict Resolution in Asia, A Simple Handshake Could Go Far

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution.

When disputes arise between international negotiators, sometimes a simple gesture of reciprocity can turn a boiling conflict into an amicable resolution. In this article the Program on Negotiation explores how a “simple handshake” between the leaders of Japan and the People’s Republic of China helped ease long-held tensions between the two countries. … Read More

To Avoid the Need for Dispute Resolution, Plan Ahead

Posted by & filed under Dispute Resolution.

When disputes flare up in business relationships, a failure to thoroughly anticipate and prepare for the future is often to blame. Consider a dispute that has arisen surrounding the estate of Maurice Sendak, the acclaimed children’s book author and illustrator of dozens of books, including the masterpiece Where the Wild Things Are. As Randy Kennedy … Read More

Centrism in the Middle East: Myth or Method

Posted by & filed under Events, International Negotiation.

The Harvard International Negotiation Program, the Harvard Global Health Institute and the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School are pleased to co-present:

Centrism in the Middle East: Myth or Method Distinguished Lecture by Najib A. Mikati former Prime Minister of Lebanon with opening remarks by Daniel L. Shapiro Founder and Director, Harvard International Negotiation Program Monday, November 24 12:00 – 1:30 p.m. Austin Hall, Room … Read Centrism in the Middle East: Myth or Method

Why We Focus on Culture in Negotiations

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

Adapted from “Coping with Culture at the Bargaining Table,” first published in the May 2009 issue of Negotiation. Why we focus on culture Why does concentrating on the other side’s culture lead to problems in negotiation? Consider that negotiators often focus too narrowly on the most obvious information about the task at hand. Such focusing failures lead negotiators to … Read Why We Focus on Culture in Negotiations

Announcing the 2013-2014 PON Graduate Research Fellows

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Daily, Graduate Research Fellowships, PON Graduate Research Fellowships.

The Program on Negotiation Graduate Research Fellowships are designed to encourage young scholars from the social sciences and professional disciplines to pursue theoretical, empirical, and/or applied research in negotiation and dispute resolution. Consistent with the PON goal of fostering the development of the next generation of scholars, this program provides support for one year of … Read More

PON panel discusses Track II Negotiations, Islands of Coordination and Unilateral Moves in the New Middle East

Posted by & filed under International Negotiation, Middle East Negotiation Initiatives, Videos.

On March 4th, the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School hosted a panel discussion entitled: “Negotiations by Other Means: Track II, Unilateral Action, Robust Third Party Role and Islands of Coordination in the New Middle East.”    

  The panel featured three veterans of high profile Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy: Ambassador Dore Gold, President of the Jerusalem Center for … Read More

Video: Moving beyond barriers with Eileen Babbitt

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills, Videos.

In this video, Eileen Babbitt, Director of the International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Program at Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, outlines three types of obstacles that generate barriers in negotiations, and how to move beyond them. This video includes excerpts from a session taught by Dr. Babbitt at the Program on Negotiation for Senior … Read Video: Moving beyond barriers with Eileen Babbitt

Dealing with emotions during tough economic times

Posted by & filed under Negotiation Skills.

A major measure of the economy is the prevailing mood. A bleak job market and less-than-rosy economic outlook influence how we feel in an organization. Tighter budgets and increased layoffs are causes for concern, and many of us respond with “fight or flight” behavior.  We defend our turf or avoid tense conversations in the hopes … Read Dealing with emotions during tough economic times

The Art of Negotiation

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Conflict Resolution, Daily, Events, Student Events.

The Art of Negotiation Moved to Pound Hall 101 on the HLS Campus October 18, 2011 7:30 pm Free and open to the public Please join world-renowned artist Romero Britto as he unveils a series of paintings produced in collaboration with Professor Daniel Shapiro and Harvard College students.   Each painting illustrates a key aspect to address the emotional dimension of … Read The Art of Negotiation

Announcing the 2011 PON Summer Fellows

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Daily, Summer Fellowship Grants.

About the PON Summer Fellowship Program: PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between … Read Announcing the 2011 PON Summer Fellows

Event: The Psychology of Nazi Doctors

Posted by & filed under Daily, Events.

The Harvard Institute on Global Health (HIGH) and the Harvard International Negotiation Program Present: “On Embracing Evil: The Psychology of Nazi Doctors” with Robert Jay Lifton moderated by Professor Dan Shapiro

What impels people to use religion, ideology, or professional privilege as tools for destructive action? What is the mindset that can take one from healing to killing, or to … Read Event: The Psychology of Nazi Doctors

Leadership and Cooperation: A Special Lecture by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago

Posted by & filed under Awards, Grants, and Fellowships, Daily, Events, International Negotiation, Student Events.

Leadership and Cooperation: A Special Lecture by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Date: November 9, 2010, 5:00 pm-6:30 pm Location: Austin East, Harvard Law School campus On May 26, 2010, Kamla Persad-Bissessar made history when she was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. She was recently named one … Read More

Jeswald Salacuse Article Published in International Negotiation Journal

Posted by & filed under Daily, International Negotiation.

Jeswald Salacuse’s article Teaching International Business Negotiation: Reflections on Three Decades of Experience was published in International Negotiation, Volume 15, Number 2. The full article can be purchased here. Abstract: The author has taught international business negotiation in a wide variety of university courses and executive training programs throughout the world during the last three decades. He … Read More

Announcing the 2010 PON Summer Fellows

Posted by & filed under Daily, Summer Fellowship Grants.

About the PON Summer Fellowship Program: PON offers fellowship grants to students at Harvard University, MIT, Tufts University and other Boston-area schools who are doing internships or undertaking summer research projects in negotiation and dispute resolution in partnership with public, non-profit or academic organizations. The Summer Fellowship Program’s emphasis is on advancing the links between … Read Announcing the 2010 PON Summer Fellows

PON Professor Jeswald Salacuse Publishes New Book

Posted by & filed under Daily, International Negotiation, News, Reviews of Books.

Professor Jeswald Salacuse recently published a new book, The Law of Investment Treaties.  Professor Salacuse is a member of PON’s Executive Committee and experienced in international negotiation, international business transactions, leadership, and law and development.  The Law of Investment Treaties explains the nature, history, and significance of investment treaties and their impact on international investors … Read PON Professor Jeswald Salacuse Publishes New Book

The Role of Track I actors in Reconciliation: The UN in Iraq

Posted by & filed under Conflict Resolution, Daily, Events, International Negotiation, The Kelman Seminar.

“The Role of Track I actors in Reconciliation: The UN in Iraq”

with Eileen Babbitt

Date: December 8, 2009 Time: 4-6 PM Where: CGIS Building, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, 1737 Cambridge Street, Second Floor, N-262 (Bowie Vernon Room), Cambridge MA Contact Chair: Donna Hicks (dhicks@wcfia.harvard.edu). Speaker Bio Eileen F. Babbitt is Professor of International Conflict Management Practice and Director of the International Negotiation … Read More

Instructing the negotiator

Posted by & filed under Daily, Negotiation Skills.

The Clearinghouse at PON offers hundreds of role simulations, from two-party, single-issue negotiations to complex multi-party exercises. The Ship Bumping Case is a two-party international negotiation between Russian and U.S. negotiators over a naval incident. Teams internally prepare instructions for a representative not involved in the preparation. SCENARIO: Vessels from the United States … Read Instructing the negotiator

Coping with cultural differences

Posted by & filed under Daily, International Negotiation.

Have you ever found yourself negotiating with people from other cultures, whether at home or abroad?  If so, did you try to adapt your negotiating style to fit the other person or team’s culture, and if so, how? Most negotiators understand that cultural differences are likely to be a factor in negotiations. Unfortunately, many negotiators actually … Read Coping with cultural differences