DIPLOMACY AND NEGOTIATION
Obiettivi formativi
The course aims at providing the students with a wide overview of contemporary diplomacy in the global scenario, with specific reference to the major transformations and relevance for peacebuilding of the diplomatic field in recent times.
In particular, the course will focus on negotiation and mediation as conflict resolution tools and activities.
Challenges and prospects for the future of diplomacy in the light of cultural, societal, and technological changes will be the object of discussions and workshops.
Risultati di apprendimento attesi
Knowledge and understanding
The course will offer key theoretical tools for analyzing the evolving role of diplomacy in a globalized world in terms of actors, agency, and agents.
The course will provide students with advanced knowledge and analytical resources that will enable them to understand the processes and consequences of negotiation and mediation between national, international, transnational and non-state actors.
Applying knowledge and understanding:
The students will be able to identify the prominent features of the institutions of diplomacy in terms of organizational standards, cultural features and expected performance; apply theoretical models to concrete international case studies of negotiation and mediation, with special attention to ongoing crises and conflicts; examine and compare the outcome of major international negotiation efforts
Making judgements
I expect students to be able to evaluate diplomatic routine and diplomatic initiatives, identifying the effectiveness and the shortcomings of the different types of diplomacy both as a process and as a pursuit of substantial outcomes. Students should also acquire a critical understanding of the scope and challenges of processes of bilateral and international negotiations in the field of international security and global issues, such as nuclear programs and climate change.
Communications Skills
This course will offer the possibility to handle and understand terms and concepts in the field of diplomacy and international negotiation in order to communicate their ideas, proposals, analyses and critical reasoning in the most convincing and articulated way.
Learning skills
This course will provide students with the intellectual tools to determine why certain international negotiations are initiated and others are not, why some of them are successful and other are not, and to evaluate explanatory models in an independent way.
Contenuti Del Corso
The main focus of the course will be understanding and explaining the process of international negotiation and mediation, as one of the most important tasks of diplomats and international experts and practitioners.
The course will also highlight the mutual interaction between theory and practice, conceptual approaches and empirical evidence. A blend of "field notes" taken from the direct diplomatic experience of the instructor, case studies and theoretical contextualization will be a salient feature of the course.
Using several analytical tools, students will assess and compare contemporary and historical examples of international negotiations and mediation efforts, in particular through structured workshops and a simulation.
Negotiation and mediation will be considered not only peace-making tools, but also instruments to strengthen the world political order. They will be conceptualized as processes specific to the international system of states and crucial to its survival, in the wider context of the international politics, implying strategic choices among confrontation, competition and cooperation.
Special attention will be devoted to cross-cultural aspects of negotiation and gender issues in diplomacy.
Several movies related with diplomacy and negotiation are suggested to the students as an integrative and optional activity.
Sustainability topics: one of the main features of the course is dealing with a future international peace conference on Ukraine, that will include energy dependence of West European countries on Russian hydrocarbons and the need for a green energy transition, as well as the notion of “ecocide” related to the conflict
Testi Di Riferimento
REQUIRED READINGS:
- G.R.Berridge, Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan, 2022
- Andrew F. Cooper, Jorge Heine, Ramesh Thakur, eds., The Oxford Handbook of Modern Diplomacy, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2013 (Chapters 1, 2,
3, 6, 13, 30, 31, 40, 46, 47, 49)
- Carrie Menkel-Meadow. Negotiation. A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2022
- Brian R.Urlacher, International Relations as Negotiation, Routledge, London-New York 2016 (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 9)
- J.Michael Greig and Paul F. Diehl, International Mediation, Polity, Cambridge UK-Malden MA,USA 2016
OPTIONAL READINGS:
Additional material, books chapters and journal articles mentioned in the Syllabus provided by the instructor
Metodologie Didattiche
- Lectures
- Case studies
- Individual work (article or book chapter review; position paper)
- Team work (discussion and simulation)
Modalità di verifica dell'apprendimento
ALL COURSE CONTINUING EVALUATION
- Students are required to do the reading assignments in advance for each lesson and to prepare, when instructed, with independent research.
- Attendance and participation to all lessons and activities are strictly required.
- An evaluation process will take place throughout the entire course.
GRADING
- TEAM WORK: A collective grade will be given to each team participating in the simulation (30%) that will take place in the weeks 10 an 11 of the
course.
- INDIVIDUAL WORK: Students are required to produce individually, within indicated deadlines:
1) a book chapter/article review: one page, up to 500 words (a list of titles is provided) (20%) by 31 October 2023
2) a succinct position paper (max.1000 words) containing options and recommendations written by a junior member of a national delegation for the
Head of that delegation on how to engage in negotiations for the solution of an international crisis (a list of several international crises is provided)
(20%) by 30 November 2023
3) Final individual oral exam (30%): discussion of the position paper and at least three questions on the topics of the course.
NON ATTENDING STUDENTS
Non attending students are required to produce, two week before the oral exam (30%), a book chapter/article review (20%), a position paper (20%) and a short analysis of the topic of the simulation (30%).
Criteri per l’assegnazione dell’elaborato finale
- Excellent outcome in the cumulative final grade (ideally 30/30)
- Active participation and proven willingness to deepen knowledge of the field
Settimana 1
Introduction to the course
Fundamentals of diplomacy
- Diplomacy’s semantic field
- Diplomacy as an international practice
- Diplomacy and foreign policy
- Transformations of diplomacy
- From club to network diplomacy
Institutions of national diplomacy
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Diplomacy with and without diplomatic relations
- Diplomatic network
- Embassies, Permanent Missions and Special Missions
- Consulates and Consular Diplomacy
- The Diplomatic Corps
- Diplomatic immunity
- Gender in the Foreign Service
- Open and public diplomacy
Activities:
- Diplomacy in visual arts
- Diplomacy between history and popular culture
Required Readings:
- Berridge, chapters 1,7, 8,9, 10, 13, 14, 15
- Cooper-Heine-Thakur, chapters 1, 2, 3
Additional Readings:
- Costas M. Constantinou, Pauline Kerr and Paul Sharp, eds., The SAGE Handbook of Diplomacy - Chapter 2. A Conceptual History of Diplomacy, SAGE, London 2016
- Karin Aggestam and Ann Towns,The gender turn in diplomacy: a new research agenda, "International Feminist Journal of Politics", 21:1, 9-28, 2019
- Catherine Fletcher, Diplomacy in Renaissance Rome. The Rise of the Resident Ambassador, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2020, Introduction, chapter 1
- G. R. Berridge, Machiavelli: Human Nature, Good Faith, and Diplomacy, “Review of International Studies” 27, 539 556, 2001
- Costas M. Constantinou, On the Way to Diplomacy, University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis 1996, pp. 3-26
Suggested movie: Santiago, Italia, Italy 2019 (in 1973, the elected Socialist leader Salvador Allende in Chile was ousted by a coup d’état orchestrated by Augusto Pinochet. This is the story of the efforts of the Italian Embassy in Santiago to save and relocate citizens targeted by the authoritarian regime).
Settimana 2
Fundamentals of negotiation
- The structure of negotiation
- Negotiation analysis
The negotiation process/I
- Pre-negotiations and preparation
- “Around the table” negotiations
- Diplomatic momentum
Case study: The Cuban Missile crisis
Required Readings:
- Berridge, chapters 2,3,4
- Carrie Menkel-Meadow, chapters 1,2
- Cooper-Heine-Thakur, chapter 46
- Urlacher, chapters 1,3
Additional Readings:
- Evangelos Raftopoulos, International Negotiation. A Process of Relational Governance for International Common Interest, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2019, chapter 1
- Thomas C. Schelling, The Strategy of Conflict, Harvard University, Cambridge Massachusetts - London UK 1980, pp. 21-52
- Jacob Bercovitch and Richard Jackson, Conflict Resolution in the Twenty-First Century. Principles, Methods, and Approaches, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 2009, chapter 2
- Ho-Won Jeong, International Negotiation. Process and Strategies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2016, chapters 1,2,3
- Karin Aggestam and Ann E.Towns, eds., Gendering Diplomacy and International Negotiation, Palgrave MacMillan, New York 2018, Chapter 9
Suggested movie: Bridge of Spies, USA 2015 (complexity of multi-party negotiation in its portrayal of a swap of Soviet and American agents during the Cold War).
Settimana 3
The negotiation process/II
- Agreements
- Follow-up
Case Study: The JCPoA (on the Iranian Nuclear Programme)
Required Readings:
- Berridge, chapters 5-6
- Carrie Menkel-Meadow, chapters 4, 5
- Ulracher, chapter 2
Additional Readings:
- Roger Fisher, William Ury, Getting to Yes, Penguin Books, New York 2011, chapters 1,2,3,4,5
Marco Schauer, Johann M. Majer and Roman Trötschel, Nine Degrees of Uncertainty in Negotiations, "Negotiation Journal", Spring 2023
- Raymond Cohen, Negotiating Across Cultures. International Communication in an Interdependent World, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington DC 2007, chapter 3
- James K. Sebenius, R. Nicholas Burns and Robert N. Mnookin, Kissinger the Negotiator. Lessons from Dealmaking at the Highest Level, Harper, New York-London-Toronto-Sidney 2018, Conclusion
- Gary Samore et al., The Iran Nuclear Deal: A Definitive Guide, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School, 2015
- E.Kadkhodaee and Z. Ghasemi Tari, Otherising Iran in American political discourse: case study of a post-JCPOA Senate hearing on Iran sanctions, “Third World Quarterly”, 40(1), 109–128, 2019
Suggested movies:
1) Argo, USA 2012 (based on events that took place during the 1979–81 Iran hostage crisis. Several U.S. embassy workers took refuge with Canadian diplomats, and were able to escape the country disguised as a Canadian film crew).
2) Diplomacy, USA 2009 (relations between the United States and Iran take an unexpected turn when two diplomats and their interpreters meet for closed-door negotiations).
Settimana 4
International Mediation/I
- Definition, forms, goals
- The providers of mediation
Case studies:
- The Oslo Accords
- The Beagle Channel Dispute
Required Readings:
- Berridge, chapter 16
- Greig-Diehl chapters 1,3
Additional Readings:
- Thomas Princen, Intermediaries in International Conflict, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1992, chapters 2,8
- Jacob Bercovitch and Richard Jackson, Conflict Resolution in the Twenty-First Century. Principles, Methods, and Approaches, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor 2009, chapter 3
- Arvid Bell and Dana Wolf, Decoding Negotiation Systems in the Middle East and North Africa: A Framework for Analysis, "Negotiation Journal", Winter 2023
- Karin Aggestam and Ann E.Towns, eds., Gendering Diplomacy and International Negotiation, Palgrave MacMillan, New York 2018, Chapter 10
Suggested movie: The Oslo Diaries, Israel-Canada 2018 (a documentary on the Middle Eastern peace talks at the Oslo accords in the 1990s between Israelis and Palestinians)
Settimana 5
International Mediation/II
- The application of mediation to violent conflicts
- The success and failure of mediation
Case studies:
- The Camp David Agreements
- The mediation efforts in Syria
Required Readings:
- Greig-Diehl, chapters 2,4
Additional Readings:
- Thomas Princen, Intermediaries in International Conflict, Princeton University Press, Princeton 1992, chapter 6
- Chester A.Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, Taming Intractable Conflicts. Mediation in the Hardest Cases, United States Institute of Peace Press, Washington DC 2004, chapter 3
- Tarak Barkawi, Diplomacy, War and World Politics, in Ole Jacob Sending, Vincent Pouliot and Iver B. Neumann, eds., Diplomacy and the Making of World Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2015
- Pınar Akpınar, The limits of mediation in the Arab Spring: the case of Syria, “Third World Quarterly”, 2016, Vol. 37, No. 12, 2288–2303
- Magnus Lundgren, Mediation in Syria: initiatives, strategies, and obstacles, 2011–2016, “Contemporary Security Policy”, 2016, Vol. 37, No.2, 273–288
Settimana 6
International Mediation/III
- Connection and consequences of mediation efforts
- Evolving challenges for international mediation
Case study: Mediation efforts in Libya
Required Readings:
- Greig-Diehl, chapters 5,6
Additional Readings:
- I. William Zartman, Diplomacy as Negotiation and Mediation, in Pauline Kerr, Geoffrey Wiseman, eds., Diplomacy in a Globalizing World. Theories and Practices, Oxford University Press, New York-Oxford 2013
- Karin Aggestam and Ann E.Towns, eds., Gendering Diplomacy and International Negotiation, Palgrave MacMillan, New York 2018, Chapter 8
- Stephanie T. Williams and Jeffrey Feltman, Can a political breakthrough mend a broken Libya? Brookings Institution, February 17, 2021
- Clara Portela and Jean-Louis Romanet Perroux, UN Security Council Sanctions and Mediation in Libya. Synergy or Obstruction?, "Global Governance" 28 (2022) 228–250
- Mohammed Cherkaoui, The Legitimacy Puzzle in the UN Mediation of the Libyan Conflict, George Mason University, September 2023 (paper)
Settimana 7
Diplomacy and force
- Coercive diplomacy
- Inducements (sanctions) and incentives
- Negotiating with international “enemies”
- Negotiating with sub-national and transnational “terrorists”
Case studies:
- Two hostages negotiations: Waco and the Munich Olympics
- The Hamas/Israel hostage and prisoners deal (2023-2024)
Required Readings:
- Cooper-Heine-Thakur, chapter 31
Additional Readings:
- Costas M. Constantinou, Pauline Kerr and Paul Sharp, eds., The SAGE Handbook of Diplomacy - Chapter 38. Coercive Diplomacy, SAGE, London 2016
- Narges Bajoghli, Vali Nasr and Djavad Salehi-Isfahani, How Sanctions Work. Iran and the Impact of Economic Warfare, Stanford University Press, Redwood City 2024 (chapter 4, Conclusion)
- G. Richard Shell, The Morality of Bargaining: Identity versus Interests in Negotiations with Evil, “Negotiation Journal”, October 2010;
- Deepak Malhotra, Without Conditions The Case for Negotiating With the Enemy, "Foreign Affairs", September-October 2009
- Deborah Goodwin, Two hostages negotiations. Waco and the Munich Olympics, in Guy Olivier Faure (ed.), Unfinished business. Why international negotiation fail, The University of Georgia Press, Athens-London 2012, pp. 148-164
- Jonathan Powell, Terrorist at the table. Why negotiation is the only way to peace, Palgrave MacMillan, New York 2015, chapter 1
- James Martherus, Negotiating with Terrorists, “Praemon”, 3 March 2015
- Audrey Kurth Cronin, Hostage Negotiations and Other Talks with Terrorists, "Politics and Diplomacy", Winter/Spring 2015
- Julie Browne and Eric S. Dickson, ''We Don't Talk to Terrorists'': On the Rhetoric and Practice of Secret Negotiations, "Journal of Conflict Resolution" 2010 54:379.
Preparation to simulation/I: A future peace conference on Ukraine (materials provided by the instructor)
Suggested movie:
- Munich, USA 2005 (During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack. As the body count mounts -with retribution following retribution - so do questions, doubts, and sleepless nights).
Settimana 8
Multiparty Negotiation
- Multilateralism and multipolarism
- Selective and ad-hoc international formats
- Conferences
- Summits
- Diplomacy at the UN
- The EU as a negotiation process, a negotiation system and a negotiated order
Case studies:
- Climate Diplomacy
- G-7, G20, BRICS
Required Readings:
- Berridge, chapters 11-12
- Carrie Menkel-Meadow, chapter 6
- Cooper-Heine-Thakur, chapters 13, 40, 47, 40
Additional Readings:
- O.Elgström and M.Smith, Introduction: Negotiation and policy-making in the European Union – processes, system and order “Journal of European Public Policy”, 7(5), 673–683, 2000
- Vincent Pouliot, Multilateralism as an End in Itself, "International Studies Perspectives" Vol. 12, No. 1 (February 2011), pp. 18-26
- Vincent Pouliot, The practice of permanent representation to international organizations, in Ole Jacob Sending, Vincent Pouliot and Iver B. Neumann, eds., Diplomacy and the Making of World Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2015
Suggested movie: Diplomacy (Germany/France 2014; a tense battle of wills between a Nazi general and a Swedish diplomat over the fate of Paris in the waning days of World War II)
Preparation to simulation/II: A future peace conference on Ukraine (materials provided by the instructor)
Settimana 9
Preparation to simulation/III: A future peace conference on Ukraine (materials provided by the instructor)
Settimana 10
Simulation/I:
A future international peace conference on Ukraine
Settimana 11
Simulation/II:
A future international peace conference on Ukraine
Settimana 12
Simulation de-briefing
The future of diplomacy: discussion, ideas, proposals
Required Readings:
- Berridge, Conclusion
- Carrie Menkel-Meadow, chapters 7,8, Appendix
- Cooper-Heine-Thakur, chapter 30
Additional Readings:
- Philip Seib, The Future of #Diplomacy, Polity, Cambridge, UK – Malden, MA 2016, chapters 3,4,5
- Barry O’Neill, International Negotiation: Some Conceptual Developments, "Annual Review of Political Science", 2018. 21:515–33
- Cecilia Albin, Justice and Fairness in International Negotiation, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2001, chapter 2
- Costas M. Constantinou, Pauline Kerr and Paul Sharp, eds.,The SAGE Handbook of Diplomacy - Introduction: Understanding Diplomatic Practice
- Costas M. Constantinou and James Der Derian, Sustainable Diplomacies, New York 2010, Introduction
- Paul Sharp, Diplomatic Theory of International Relations, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2009, Introduction and Conclusion
- Chester A. Crocker, Fen Osler Hampson, and Pamela Aall, eds., Diplomacy and the Future of World Order, Georgetown University Press, Washington DC, 2021, chapters 1, 17
- Ole Jacob Sending, Diplomats and Humanitarians in crisis governance, in Ole Jacob Sending, Vincent Pouliot and Iver B. Neumann, eds., Diplomacy and the Making of World Politics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge UK 2015
- Daryl Copeland, Guerrilla Diplomacy. Rethinking International Relations, Lynne Rienner, Boulder 2009, chapter 12
Suggested movie: Wag the dog, USA 1997 (a spin doctor and a Hollywood producer who fabricate a war in Albania to distract voters from a presidential sex scandal)