American Negotiating Behavior: Wheeler-Dealers, Legal Eagles, Bullies, and Preachers (Cross-cultural Negotiation Series) - Softcover

Solomon, Richard Hugh; Quinney, Nigel

Softcover

ISBN 10: 160127047X ISBN 13: 9781601270474

Publisher: United States Institute of Peace Press, 2010

Synopsis

This landmark study offers a rich and detailed portrait of the negotiating practices of American officials. It assesses the multiple influences-cultural, institutional, historical, and political - that shape how American policymakers and diplomats approach negotiations with foreign counterparts and highlights behavioral patterns that transcend the actions of individual negotiators and administrations. Informed by discussions and interviews with more than fifty seasoned foreign and American negotiators, Richard H. Solomon and Nigel Quinney argue that four distinctive mind-sets have combined to shape U.S. negotiating practice: a businessperson's pragmatic quest for concrete results, a lawyer's attention to detail, a superpower's inclination to dictate terms, and a moralizer's sense of mission. The authors examine how Americans employ time, language, enticements, and pressure tactics at the negotiating table, and how they use (or neglect) the media, back channel communications, and hospitality outside the formal negotiating arena. They also explore the intense interagency rivalries and congressional second-guessing that limit U.S. negotiators' freedom to maneuver. A chapter by the eminent historian Robert Schulzinger charts the evolving relationship between U.S. presidents and their negotiators, and the volume presents a set of eight remarkably candid foreign perspectives on particular aspects of American negotiating behavior. These chapters are written by a distinguished cast of ambassadors and foreign ministers, some from countries allied to the United States, others from rivals or adversaries and all with illuminating stories to tell. In the concluding chapter, Solomon and Quinney propose a variety of measures to enhance America's negotiating capacities to deal with the new and emerging challenges to effective diplomacy in the 21st century. Contributors: Gilles Andreani; Chan Heng Chee; David Hannay; Faruk Logoglu; Lalit Mansingh; Yuri Nazarkin; Robert Schulzinger; Koji Watanabe; and, John Wood.

About this title

Review:

"This book is a gold-mine for anyone interested in American negotiation styles and methods, analysed by two perceptive co-authors and eight experienced international practitioners of diplomacy. One of many merits of the book is that it sets out the parameters for a future diplomacy, adapted to a world where dialogue and negotiations hopefully will be the primary tools for solving conflicts and global problems."--Jan Eliasson, Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden and President of the United Nations General Assembly

A goldmine of useful information and ideas that can help make American negotiators--and their counterparts--more effective and the process of negotiations better understood."--George P. Shultz, Hoover Institution"

"American Negotiating Behavior" is a truly unique study of the American negotiator because it explores the foreign perception of American negotiators. --Zbigniew Brzezinski, Center for Strategic and International Studies"

"American Negotiating Behavior" may well become the definitive primer on the art of effective cross-cultural negotiating. It should be an important part of the education of U.S. diplomat, as well as anyone engaged in international transactions. --Henry A. Kissinger, U.S. Secretary of State 1973-1977"

About the Author:

Richard H. Solomon has had extensive experience negotiating with East Asian leaders. As assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, he negotiated the first UN "Permanent Five" peacemaking agreement, for Cambodia, and led U.S. bilateral negotiations with Vietnam. Solomon has been president of the United States Institute of Peace since 1993. He is the author of seven books, including Chinese Negotiating Behavior: Pursuing Interests Through "Old Friends" (USIP Press). Nigel Quinney is president of The Editorial Group and a consultant to European and American think tanks, academic institutions, and multinational corporations.

About this edition

• Publisher: United States Institute of Peace Press
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 160127047X
• ISBN 13: 9781601270474
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 376