LINC - Negotiation Architects

Crisis in the Church

nicole — Sun, 01 May 2011 21:55:00 +0000

This simulation is based on an actual crisis negotiation that occurred at the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem from April 2 to May 10, 2002 between the Israeli Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) and seasoned Palestinian negotiators appointed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. This two-party negotiation simulation is suited for participants interested in understanding the dynamics of crisis negotiation.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) launched a military operation coined “Defensive Shield” in 2002 to respond to increased terrorist attacks. The major ground campaign brought IDF forces into the Palestinian town of Bethlehem and lead to intense street fighting. More than 200 Palestinians, among them heavily armed gunmen and innocent bystanders took refuge in the Church of the Nativity, a holy site for Muslims and Christians who believe it is the birthplace of Jesus Christ. The standoff quickly came to a stalemate as the IDF sought to avoid the international condemnation sure to follow any attack on the church and Palestinians feared leaving the safety of its enclosure.

The simulation begins twenty days into the siege, as time appears to be running out. The IDF Crisis Negotiation Unit (CNU) and seasoned Palestinian negotiators appointed by Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat have agreed to meet three times in the upcoming week to see if the siege can be ended peacefully. However, this pre-determined outline can change at any time depending on activities on the ground, neither team is committed to finding resolution within three rounds if it jeopardizes their needs and interests.

Crisis in the Church provides participants with the opportunity to evaluate their positions and interests, create an agenda, and problem-solve possible solutions as daily events on the ground unfold. Time and media presence play important roles as both parties are under pressure to find a solution before the conflict turns into an international crisis.

Unsettled Channels: Crisis in Abkhazia/Georgia

nicole — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:04:37 +0000

A major explosion has just occurred at a hydro-electric power station that runs along the border of Abkhazia and Georgia and in doing so, raises the stakes in an ongoing regional conflict. Unsettled Channels is an 18-hour, 8-party simulation which uses the above scenario to highlight the stages of conflict prevention, conflict management and resolution, and post-conflict reconciliation and reconstruction.

The blast to the the hydroelectric powerstation sparks a resurgence of violence among local conflicting parties. Russia’s close ties to Georgia’s breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia weakens Georgian authority there. The United States supports Georgia’s territorial integrity while Europe seeks to create stability through economic integration. Some primary actors want the incident kept secret out of fear that the local conflict could spill over and escalate tensions between states. The participants will grapple with local issues as well as high politics.

Major themes: Crisis negotiation, deescalation, energy security, energy politics, historical grievances, interests v. positions.

The Congo: Looming Crisis and Humanitarian Impact

nicole — Sun, 01 May 2011 22:06:48 +0000

This 9-hour, 25-party simulation addresses humanitarian needs in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Participants come together as representatives of several cross-sector stakeholders to create policy recommendations addressing competing short-term and long-term issues.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the Government of Rwanda joined forces in December 2008 to neutralize two major rebel factions in the DRC’s eastern provinces. The governments’ joint military offensive will combat rebel groups in the villages, where the homes and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of non-combatant civilians will be in harm’s way. This gambit ultimately may move the region closer to an enduring peace, but it will increase violence in the short-term. Armed conflict in the region inevitably leads to attacks on civilians and humanitarian disaster—therefore the United Nations (UN) has decided to take action. You have been invited to attend a summit headed by a joint UN/African Union (AU) task force to help develop policy recommendations to protect and support the civilian population in the face of the escalating conflict.

Participants will attend an international summit in Nairobi, Kenya with leaders from regional governments, the UN, the AU, international donors, humanitarian relief organizations, human rights groups and other stakeholders to examine the challenges to protecting civilians from escalating crimes against humanity and humanitarian disaster. Participants will contribute to the group’s discussion and produce a report at the end of the three-day conference as a group.

A comprehensive and well-planned set of recommendations will take into account both short and long-term strategies for de-escalating violence and creating a lasting and durable peace in the DRC. The group’s guidance should include general steps that must be taken to implement the policy recommendations. Considerations such as conflict analysis, risks, and barricades to success will have to be incorporated into the discussions. As one of the attendees of the summit, participants must understand the situation in the DRC and surrounding Great Lakes Region of Africa, as well as the goals and roles of the other attendees in order to contribute to the discussion and ensure that policy recommendations reflect objectives and address obstacles.

This simulation is suited for participants interested in a comprehensive understanding of regional stakeholders in the DRC including politicians, international organizations, and local leaders. Participants will be required to identify positions and interests and work with stakeholders with opposing interests to ensure that their needs are met.

Getting to Normal: The Six Party Talks

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:54:29 +0000

This simulation places participants in representations of the six roles in a scored “game” that allows them to avoid role playing while still being forced to answer to their constituencies (the point system) in a hypothetical summit to discuss normalization of relations and the denuclearization of North Korea between all six countries involved in the Six Party Talks (The United States, Russia, South Korea, North Korea, China, and Japan are all equally represented in the simulation). After conducting the simulation with over 500 participants across the country and around the world, the following results can be guaranteed:

Participants learn a lot about themselves as negotiators and varying styles of negotiation,
They develop an appreciation for the complexities and challenges involved specifically in multi-party talks, and
They learn a great deal about the specific complexities, dynamics and frustrations of the Six Party Talks – including the historical grievances, cultural and political differences between the 6 countries.

No prior knowledge of the Six Party Talks is necessary – preparation materials (one 5-page packet) are provided by LINC.

The simulation can be facilitated for groups ranging from 6 – 100 participants and ideally would require a minimum of 3 hours but can be accomplished in as few as 2.5. Due to the guaranteed dynamic discussion that results from participating in the simulation, Managing Director Nicole Finnemann often chooses to complement the simulation with a photo presentation and discussion of the real-life status of the Talks – something she is significantly involved with in her “day job.” Additional funding and sponsorship for this simulation can be made available to interested groups thanks to the Korea Economic Institute.

“While I had a slightly more solid knowledge base regarding the Six-Party talks and the North Korean nuclear issue, this simulation reinforced just how difficult reaching compromise on this issue really is. While I had assumed before the simulation that no progress was being made on this front due to North Korean reticence to cooperate, I was very surprised to discover that agreement still eludes the Talks due to the specific policy objectives of each party to the talks, not just North Korea. This allowed me to take a longer view of the North Korean nuclear impasse.”

~Sara Shokravi, Washington D.C.

“The Six Party Talks simulation was a great opportunity to really understand the complex relationships between the countries at the negotiating table.”

~Benedicte Pons, Paris, France

Kirkuk Conflagration

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:55:50 +0000

This is a multi-party mediated simulation taking place in present day Iraq. A long festering conflict over the oil rich city of Kirkuk is threatening to disrupt the fragile peace in this area of Iraq. This conflict reflects a deep schism between Arabs and Kurds dating back to the creation of modern Iraq. The stakes are high. Tension between ethnic groups could drag neighboring countries such as Turkey into the fray. A regional struggle over Kirkuk could be far more threatening to Iraq’s stability than the recent sectarian war. To avoid a breakdown over the issue of Kirkuk, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq has been asked by a passive United States to intervene and mediate a favorable agreement for all parties. If there is a way out, it lies in a comprehensive approach that takes into account the principal stakeholders’ core interests and brings about painful concessions from all sides.

The aim of the simulation is to demonstrate for the participants some of the challenges faced by peacemakers at the international level. This simulation is well suited for participants interested in understanding the complicated relationship between the Kurds and the Iraqi central government. It provides participants with the opportunity to better understand the positions and interests of some of the principal stakeholders on the ground in Iraq today, including the Kurds, the current Iraqi government, the United States and Turkey.

Placing The Displaced

admin — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 21:56:53 +0000

This simulation is about a property dispute in present day Iraq. Saad Salman is a Sunni man who fled the Iraqi neighborhood of Karrada under threat of sectarian violence. During his absence, Basel Naser, a Shia man who was internally displaced, moved his family into Salman’s home. Salman, upon returning from a refugee camp in Syria, wants to move back into his house, but Naser has nowhere else to go.

The United National High Commissioner for Refugees has decided to intervene on Salman’ behalf and mediate between the two families. Hanan Fahmy of UNHCR will mediate the dispute. She has asked the parties to come to UN headquarters in the green one in Baghdad, a neutral area. The site’s neutrality is especially important because the militia leader in Karrada will also be at the mediation, Zakariya al-Saiedi.

This multi-party mediated simulation is well suited for participants interested in understanding displacement issues in Iraq. It provides participants with the opportunity to better understand the positions and interests of multiple actors on the ground in Iraq today, including moderate Shia and Sunnis, members of the international community, and local militia leaders.

“This exercise provided me with valuable insight into a very important dimension of the Iraq War that is rarely covered by the mainstream news media. Before this simulation, I had only a vague sense of the massive refugee problem currently present inside Iraqi borders. I now look at the current Iraq conflict through different eyes; while major violence may have ended, the problem of homeless Iraq Shi’ite and Sunni conflict refugees reminds us that there are still challenges to be overcome.”

~Andrew Callam, Washington D.C.

“This[simulation] made me aware of all the implications that political decision
making has on the daily life of populations.”

~Bénédicte Pons, France

Oslo

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 17:03:40 +0000

Participants in this simulation experience the dynamics faced by the Israeli, Palestinian, and Norwegian representatives who took part in negotiating the historic Oslo Accords in 1993. Oslo is particularly well suited for participants interested in the nature of secret negotiations as well as those who seek to learn more about the history of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Oslo marks the first time that Israeli and Palestinian delegations are meeting in direct face to face negotiations. Behind the scenes of the Madrid talks, Norwegian researcher Terje Rød-Larsen has set up a secret meeting between Israeli and P.L.O representatives in Oslo, Norway. In contrast to the official negotiations in Madrid, where actual meetings between the delegations are limited to a few hours a day, the Israeli and Palestinian delegations in Norway are lving in the same residence, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same table, resulting in mutual respect and closer friendships.

Key issues include 1. granting recognition, 2. the nature of incrementalism 3. and negotiating security needs. Participants will be forced to “think outside the box” to come up with non-zero-sum solutions that will bridge both party’s seemingly exclusive positions.

The Oslo simulation was an eye-opener to the behind the scene negotiations of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. I learned a great deal about the conflict itself as well as the strategies used to promote peace that are not often reported in the news. I now further understand why this particular conflict is so complex and difficult to resolve.

Janyne Quarm, Washington D.C., Participant in Oslo
American University Negotiation Project, President

Websites with research material

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 19:39:46 +0000

Researching negotiation? Get started off right with a list of LINC’s favorite web-based resources on negotiation and conflict resolution:

The foremost UN training organization
http://www.unitar.org/psdu

Center on International Cooperation (also see other attached doc)
http://www.cic.nyu.edu/

Best Peacemaking resource site ever.
http://peacemaker.unlb.org/role.php

Interesting site by the US Air force
http://negotiation.au.af.mil/index.htm

PON at Oxford
http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/execed/leadership/negotiation/Welcome.htm

The Conflict Resolution Information Source
http://www.crinfo.org/action/search-portal.jsp?pid=1959&nid=2364

The Peres Center for Peace
http://www.peres-center.org/

PLO Negotiations Affairs Department
http://www.nad-plo.org/

International Crisis Group
www.crisisgroup.org

Business Negotiation Tips and Materials
www.thenegotiationguru.com

Something missing? Help LINC create a comprehensive resource by sending your feedback and additions to info@lincnegotiations.com.

Journals, books, articles

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:12:46 +0000

Journals, Magazine and other print medium resources on negotiation and conflict resolution:

The International Negotiation Network: A New Method of Approaching Some Very Old Problems
Dayle E. Spencer and William J. Spencer.
The Carter Center, Nov. 1992.

Powers of persuasion: incentives, sanctions and conditionality in peacemaking.
Aaron Griffiths with Catherine Barnes. Accord, a publication of Conciliation Resources, 2008.

Negotiation Journal
Articles on negotiation and related topics.

International Negotiation
Articles on international negotiation and related topics

The Negotiator Magazine

Peacemaking in International Conflict
William Zartman, November 2007.

Negotiations Research Network

Something missing? Help LINC create a comprehensive resource by sending your feedback and additions to info@lincnegotiations.com.

Multi-Media Resources

admin — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:17:48 +0000

The newest addition to our website, our multi-media resources page aims to provide video, podcasts, and other helpful medium on various fields within negotiation. Here you will find some great resources towards that end and more to come soon.

The Harvard International Negotiation Initiative (INI)
A website providing multimedia resources for instructors of negotiation, psychology, conflict resolution, and other fields.

The latest negotiation resource compilation from Google

Expert Village video shorts on conflict resolution and negotiation tips

Podcasts on international dispute resolution

Help us make this a comprehensive tool: email info@lincnegotiations.com with your suggestions and additions!