Skilful negotiation is the need of the hour
Every student who has ever attended a mock United Nations knows this – negotiations are never zero-sum games with all or nothing gains and losses. As the word suggests, negotiation itself means to talk and arrive at the best possible outcome for the parties involved.
In today's uncertain time of international and regional conflicts, negotiations are the need of the hour.
The word 'negotiate' originates from the Latin word 'negotiari', meaning "to do business or trade', although the act of negotiation goes further back than its Latin roots.
According to researcher John Graham, humans used 'collective imaginations and their long-term relationships to survive and develop even better ways to live'.
An important early text on negotiation is the famous treatise 'The Art of War' by the Chinese Sun Tzu. In it, the skills of understanding the opposition, the art of listening, building rapport, and reaching a compromise are seen to be essential when interacting at a negotiating table.
Later works of the Indian strategist Chanakya and the Italian Machiavelli similarly emphasised prioritising one's state above all, and maintaining open information corridors throughout any confrontation.
In the 20th century, businesses have focused on conducting negotiations to get a better economic or trade deal. The impactful book 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss outlines the various stages of negotiations and comments on important points of 'identifying the black swan' and 'creating the illusion of control' as central to this powerful conversation.
In the geostrategic world, negotiation is key to sustaining relationships between nation-states.
There are many historical examples where the right people have signed off on the right deal and saved the suffering of a mass of humanity. These include the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which re-created the map of Europe, and the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognised the United States. The Korean Armistice of 1953 effectively ended the Korean War, and the Taif Agreement of 1989 united competing Lebanese factions.
All of these agreements followed intense negotiations between warring parties but eventually introduced a peaceful era, however marred by sporadic violence.
According to those in the business of political negotiations, there are crucial factors to consider before finalising a political treaty.
Dr Kastner, a professor of international law, suggests that four factors are central to successful negotiation: having clear stakeholders, a trusted mediator, and identifying the right time when all parties concerned are ready.
The fourth criterion is the most important. It clarifies that negotiators need to understand the concept of the peace to which they are aiming. Peace could be seen in different ways by all parties. While most of us understand it as the end of conflict, this is rarely the case. Most often, negotiations point to potential peace in the long run, but they set the stage for it.
With Oman as a central negotiator in the current regional conflict, the complexities of negotiations need to be understood by even the layperson, so that the aspiration for peace is mutually understood by all stakeholders, which includes everybody who is impacted by regional political strife.
Sandhya Rao Mehta
The writer is an Associate Professor, Sultan Qaboos University
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Observer
7 hours ago
- Observer
Skilful negotiation is the need of the hour
Every student who has ever attended a mock United Nations knows this – negotiations are never zero-sum games with all or nothing gains and losses. As the word suggests, negotiation itself means to talk and arrive at the best possible outcome for the parties involved. In today's uncertain time of international and regional conflicts, negotiations are the need of the hour. The word 'negotiate' originates from the Latin word 'negotiari', meaning "to do business or trade', although the act of negotiation goes further back than its Latin roots. According to researcher John Graham, humans used 'collective imaginations and their long-term relationships to survive and develop even better ways to live'. An important early text on negotiation is the famous treatise 'The Art of War' by the Chinese Sun Tzu. In it, the skills of understanding the opposition, the art of listening, building rapport, and reaching a compromise are seen to be essential when interacting at a negotiating table. Later works of the Indian strategist Chanakya and the Italian Machiavelli similarly emphasised prioritising one's state above all, and maintaining open information corridors throughout any confrontation. In the 20th century, businesses have focused on conducting negotiations to get a better economic or trade deal. The impactful book 'Never Split the Difference' by Chris Voss outlines the various stages of negotiations and comments on important points of 'identifying the black swan' and 'creating the illusion of control' as central to this powerful conversation. In the geostrategic world, negotiation is key to sustaining relationships between nation-states. There are many historical examples where the right people have signed off on the right deal and saved the suffering of a mass of humanity. These include the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which re-created the map of Europe, and the Treaty of Paris in 1783, which recognised the United States. The Korean Armistice of 1953 effectively ended the Korean War, and the Taif Agreement of 1989 united competing Lebanese factions. All of these agreements followed intense negotiations between warring parties but eventually introduced a peaceful era, however marred by sporadic violence. According to those in the business of political negotiations, there are crucial factors to consider before finalising a political treaty. Dr Kastner, a professor of international law, suggests that four factors are central to successful negotiation: having clear stakeholders, a trusted mediator, and identifying the right time when all parties concerned are ready. The fourth criterion is the most important. It clarifies that negotiators need to understand the concept of the peace to which they are aiming. Peace could be seen in different ways by all parties. While most of us understand it as the end of conflict, this is rarely the case. Most often, negotiations point to potential peace in the long run, but they set the stage for it. With Oman as a central negotiator in the current regional conflict, the complexities of negotiations need to be understood by even the layperson, so that the aspiration for peace is mutually understood by all stakeholders, which includes everybody who is impacted by regional political strife. Sandhya Rao Mehta The writer is an Associate Professor, Sultan Qaboos University
Observer
a day ago
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War must not become refugee crisis, says UN
GENEVA: The United Nations said on Saturday the Iran-Israel war must not be allowed to trigger another refugee crisis in the Middle East, saying once people fled there was no quick way back. UNHCR, the UN's refugee agency, said the intensity of the attacks between the two sides was already triggering population movements in both countries. Such movements had already been reported from Tehran and other parts of Iran, it said, with some people crossing into neighbouring countries. Strikes in Israel had caused people to seek shelter elsewhere in the country and in some cases abroad. "This region has already endured more than its share of war, loss and displacement. We cannot allow another refugee crisis to take root," said Filippo Grandi, the UN high commissioner for refugees. "The time to de-escalate is right now. Once people are forced to flee, there's no quick way back -- and all too often, the consequences last for generations." Israel said on Saturday it had launched fresh air strikes against missile storage and launch sites in central Iran. Iran has responded with barrages which Israeli authorities say have killed at least 25 people. Iran hosts the largest number of refugees in the world -- around 3.5 million -- mostly of them from Afghanistan. If the conflict persists, Iran's existing refugee populations would also face renewed uncertainty and yet more hardship, UNHCR said. The agency called for an urgent de-escalation in the conflict and urged countries in the region to respect the right of people to seek safety. The Israeli government says the unprecedented wave of attacks it has launched at Iran since June 13 is aimed at preventing its rival from developing nuclear weapons -- an ambition Tehran strongly denies. Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it has 90 nuclear warheads. — AFP
Observer
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IAEA warns of nuclear disaster
UNITED NATIONS: The Middle East risks a nuclear catastrophe if Israel strikes Iran's southern nuclear plant of Bushehr, the head of the UN atomic watchdog warned on Friday. Rafael Grossi, director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), told the UN Security Council that he has not yet detected radiation resulting from Israel's week-long military campaign against Iran, including attacks on nuclear sites. But he said that a strike on Bushehr, the Middle East's first civilian nuclear reactor, would spell the most serious consequences as it contains thousands of kilogrammes of nuclear material. "Countries of the region have reached out directly to me over the past few hours to express their concerns and I want to make it absolutely and completely clear — in case of an attack on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, a direct hit would result in a very high release of radioactivity," Grossi said. Grossi warned of equally dire consequences even if Israel strikes the lines that supply electricity to Bushehr, saying such disabling of power could trigger a meltdown. In a worst case scenario, evacuations and orders to take shelter would need to be issued for areas within several hundred kilometres of Bushehr. The population would also need to take iodine and may see restrictions in food supply, Grossi said. Meanhile, European powers began talks with Iran in Geneva on Friday, talking of a window of opportunity for a diplomatic solution while the United States weighs whether to join its ally Israel's bombing campaign. Israel came under renewed Iranian missile fire after carrying out dozens of strikes overnight on targets, including a suspected nuclear research centre. Top European diplomats opened talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Geneva, saying they wanted to offer a "diplomatic solution" to the war, now on its eighth day. Ahead of the talks, French President Emmanuel Macron said it was "essential to prioritise" a return to negotiations and said European powers would offer Iran a "diplomatic solution". The foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany; and the European Union's top diplomat have urged de-escalation, with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy saying the next two weeks are "a window... to achieve a diplomatic solution". Speaking to the UN Human Rights Council earlier, Araghchi condemned Israel for launching its military action while Iran was still in nuclear talks with the United States. "We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process," the Iranian minister said. As the Security Council prepared to discuss the war later on Friday, UN chief Antonio Guterres appealed to all parties to "give peace a chance". Israel's military said on Friday it struck missile launchers in its latest attack on Iran. In Israel, sirens sounded in the afternoon after missiles were launched from Iran for the second time on Friday and rescuers reported two wounded, including a 16-year-old in serious condition. A military official said that "approximately 20 missiles were launched towards Israel" in the latest salvo. — AFP -
