International negotiation is a process. Clues as to the nature of the final settlement are contained in the process, in addition to the initial preferences of one party or the other. Negotiators proceed usually with more attention paid to the process of negotiating than to where the process will lead. Serious thought is given to what is acceptable only after deliberations have begun.
What is acceptable is a function of what is possible, and this is demonstrated in the act of negotiation. Over time the negotiation accumulates a settlement from the bottom up – a phenomenon referred to as “building a package”. Generally this consists of four stages: defining the scope of, or agenda for, the negotiation; a search for formulas or principles; flushing out the issues; and a search for the implementing details.
Stages are one element of a framework that attempts to capture an “ebb and flow” marked by key events and depicted as trends. Focusing primarily on the small group of negotiators, it can be highlighted interaction processes reflected in activities and verbal statements. Viewing the interactions as dyadic, the analysis probes complex patterns of mutual responsiveness as these are influenced by, and influence, key events referred to as “turning points” and “crises”.
The insights generated by this analysis concern conditions for turning points, including the role played by external events and the causes and resolutions of impasses or crises. More broadly, the results underscore a need to explore further the conjunction between processes and events of international negotiation.
