Stages, Turning Points, and Crises

Negotiating Military Base Rights, Spain and the United States

Bibliographic Data

ID6284586
AuthorsDaniel Druckman (0000-0002-0003-5620, National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, corresponding author)
Year1986
Volume30
Issue2
Pages327-360
Publication date1986-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Conflict Resolution (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-0027 • E-ISSN: 1552-8766
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0022002786030002006
OpenAlexW2013871680
LanguageEN
Citations received37
References cited34

A framework for the analysis of processes of international negotiations is described. It construes the process as an unfolding set of stages in which turning points and crises mark passage from one stage to another. This sequence is driven by certain factors that influence negotiator activities and rhetoric. The framework is applied to the bilateral negotiations between Spain and the United States over military base rights (1975-1976). A pattern of influences and events is shown to resemble a balancing process, alternating between an intensifying influence (lack of coordination within a delegation) and a moderating influence (high-level meetings to produce a framework agreement) on the conflict. Content analysis of the discussions suggests an indicator of forthcoming impasses: A large difference between the delegations in hard or soft behavior preceded an impasse in the next round. This pattern of responsiveness has been observed in other negotiating contexts and is referred to as “threshold-adjustment.” Implications of these findings for a general model of negotiating behavior are discussed

Delegation · Linguistics · Negotiation · Political science · Process (computing · Rhetoric · Sequence (biology · Set (abstract data type · Computer Science · Conflict Management and Negotiation · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology