Persuasion as the step towards convergence in negotiations

2013

Ambassador Victor Camilleri argues that the essence of diplomacy is a search for a point of convergence. Persuasion is one of the methods through which a point of convergence can be reached. He gives central relevance in diplomacy to the firm grasp of the essential points of negotiation, including assessment of balance of force. This article analyses persuasion in multilateral diplomacy through a case study the Maltese initiative on the ‘Common heritage of mankind’.

Twiter Facebook LinkedIn

In my view the essence of diplomacy is the search for points of convergence.

Persuasion is one of the methods through which a point of convergence can be reached. If persuasion is given a wide enough definition, encompassing methods which in addition, or as the accompaniment, to rational interaction involve deception, corruption, and direct or indirect application of force, in the search for convergence, then I would agree that persuasion is an important method, but not the essence, of diplomacy.

Otherwise, if defined more strictly as straightforward rational interaction, in the form of argumentation, application of logic, and provision of evidence, persuasion can only be considered as one of a number of methods through which diplomacy is conducted. The most effective of these methods is the indirect application of force.[1]

Diplomats as agents

The primary task of the diplomat is to promote their country’s interest abroad. They do this through interaction with counterparts who have the equally demanding task to promote the interests of their respective countries. The conditions of this interaction are often, though not always, of a confrontational nature where contrasting, sometimes conflicting objectives are projected.

Diplomats are agents not principals in the setting of these objectives – and therefore have limited leeway to allow persuasion to alter or even redefine the instructions under which they operate. Policy lines cannot be defined or changed within a negotiating context. In the final analysis, the most that a diplomat can be ‘persuaded’ to do is to go back to their principals and in turn try to persuade them to change their instructions.

It is under these circumstances that I define the search for convergence, rather than persuasion, as the essence of diplomacy. The most fruitful diplomacy in effect mostly resolves itself into an exercise where the contending parties seek points of convergence where the key elements of their respective positions can somehow be accommodated.

Direct or indirect use of force

A complete capitulation of one position in favour of another is rarely a result of diplomatic persuasion – especially when diplomats are the protagonists. When political leaders are the protagonists, a change of position is conceivable – however, in such cases, it is less persuasion than what I call the direct or indirect use of force, or what may more politely be termed ‘rewards and penalties’ that carries the day.

Factors such as argumentation, emotion, and rhetorical skills are a natural aspect of human intercourse. So these factors evidently play a role in the search for convergence. But they do not constitute the essence of diplomacy.

Nor, more often than not, are they the main factors in diplomatic interaction. More important factors are the diplomat’s firm grasp of the essential points of their side’s position, their clear awareness of the essential points of the other side, and a frank assessment of the background balance of force (tactical or strategic, military or economic, and to a relative extent also legal or moral) between them and the opposing side.

These are the factors that play a key role in bilateral diplomacy.

Multilateral diplomacy is a different matter. At the multilateral level objectives are quite often, but not always (especially in matters which are take up at the UN Security Council level), defined in less confrontational terms.

Point of convergence

When objectives are premised on initial points of convergence (e.g. common interest in negotiations on such matters as protection of environment, regulation of maritime or air traffic, definition of trade relations, etc.), the role of persuasion comes more to the fore in the diplomatic exercise.

Even here however the same factors defining bilateral diplomacy are also at play.

And additional significant factors also have a role – notably the diplomat’s ability to identify and recruit like-minded partners (this is an aspect where the standard methods of persuasion can take a prominent role), their familiarity with, and ability to use to their advantage, precedents, rules of procedures and the institutional dimension of multilateral discourse and, no less important, their grasp of the technicalities of the subject being negotiated.

Malta, a case in point

In Maltese diplomacy, a classic case of diplomatic persuasion was the initiative taken by Ambassador Pardo in the 1960s to launch the process leading to the law of the sea. The factors which characterised the success of this initiative were varied and complex, but the ingredient of persuasion was undoubtedly among them, especially at the beginning. Other factors were however also at play (Box 1). In my view Ambassador Pardo’s was a tour de force representing more a unique event in diplomatic history than a model of diplomatic persuasion.

In my personal experience, the most extended and complex diplomatic negotiation in which I have been involved was my role as Permanent Representative in Brussels during the time of Malta’s for accession process into the EU. In some ways this had the features of a multilateral negotiation, calling for all the factors noted above. It also had a number of unique features which in the main highlighted the convergence objectives of a negotiations exercise rather than the role of persuasion.[2]

Common heritage of mankind

In August 1967, without much prior indication, the Maltese delegation requested the inclusion of a new item in the agenda of the forthcoming 22nd session of the General Assembly entitled ‘Declaration and Treaty concerning the reservation exclusively for peaceful purposes of the sea-bed and of the ocean floor, underlying the seas beyond the limits of present national jurisdiction, and the use of their resources in the interest of mankind’.

The detailed exposition of the proposal was made by Ambassador Pardo himself in the First Committee of the General Assembly on 1 November 1967, in a three-hour-long statement, which because of its length even had to be suspended for a lunch break, and during which he displayed a comprehensive grasp of the subject matter, an intellectual force in its presentation, and a visionary approach in its conception that awed contemporaries and has made it one of the more memorable events in UN history.[3]

The common heritage initiative had all the hallmarks of Ambassador’s Pardo’s approach – idealistic inspiration, intellectual vigour, multilateral commitment, and development oriented objectives. It was the product of a long period of quiet and thorough research and preparation, which also benefited from Malta’s solid tradition of study and practice of maritime law. In common with most of his ideas it was politically neutral in its conception but initially disconcerting in its originality and implications.

The proposal’s strength lay in a combination of the timeliness and topicality of its subject matter with an innovative and bold elaboration of concepts and principles related to this subject matter.

The initial shock and hesitation generated by the proposal were overcome surprisingly quickly. The genuine and wide-ranging relevance of the subject was undeniable. The thoroughness and professionalism of the way in which the initiative was presented were impressive. The fact that Malta was a small island country with a growing reputation as an independent-minded and altruistic instigator of multilateral action helped to lend credibility and to justify and explain its initiative.

In the initial phases, Ambassador Pardo piloted the proposal in a masterful way though the intricacies of UN tactics and procedures. Substantively he managed to steer the opening discussions in the political rather than the legal direction, thereby limiting, though not completely avoiding, the interminable contortions of legalistic debate. Procedurally, by successfully insisting from the very outset on the practice of consensus decision-making, he also restrained, though here again with only partial success, the worst excesses of ideological posturing.

The Third Conference on the Law of the Sea was an unparalleled tour de force of multilateral decision-making. In the complexity, range, and depth of its subject matter, in the duration and procedural variety of its proceedings, in the wide sweep of its participation at governmental and expert levels, and in the far-reaching concepts and principles enshrined in the Convention which was its outcome, the Conference stands as an enduring monument to the value and relevance of the multilateral process

Not least among the impressive aspects of the Conference was the way it confirmed the role that even a small state could play in the multilateral setting. What Malta brought to the process was a spirit of initiative, a deep sense of multilateral commitment and a determined readiness to persist in promoting a relevant concept. As translated in the personal energy and dedicated work of Ambassador Pardo, these constituted key ingredients to launch a process of astounding dimensions and complexity. As the process unfolded it engaged the interest, attention and support of an ever enlarging number of players.

The Law of the Sea initiative has had a lasting impact on Malta’s multilateral diplomacy in the way that it has constituted a model which has constantly inspired, though on occasion it has also distracted, this diplomacy. The inspiration lay in the fundamental belief in and commitment towards multilateralism which the initiative represented and which, as long as it is pursued even-handedly in conjunction with a recognisable national interest, complements and reinforces the relevance and credibility of such initiatives.

The distraction arises in the temptation that, in an attempt to emulate the success of the law of the sea initiative, attention and energy could sometimes be directed towards other initiatives which fail to sufficiently integrate far sighted idealism with political realism, and which consequently risk falling more in the realm of academic exercises rather than in that of the political action which is a key ingredient of successful multilateralism.

[1] A discussion on the relationship between diplomacy and use of force starts with a look at Clausewitz’s On War. Available at https://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/pdffiles/pub349.pdf

[2] For more details see the second half of the speech transcript How Small States Influence Diplomatic Practice: A Look at the Fourth Round of Accession Negotiations to the European Union. Available at https://archive1.diplomacy.edu/conferences/smallstates/program.asp [5 February 2013].

[3] UN Doc A/PV.1582 [6 October 1967] pp 11–13

Read the original file

You may also be interested in

Mediation in the Yugoslav Wars: The Critical Years, 1990-95

Getting More: How You Can Negotiate to Succeed in Work and Life

Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion

The Beijing-Washington Back-Channel and Henry Kissinger’s Secret Trip to China

Cyprus: the search for a solution

Lord Hannay, a senior British diplomat with great experience of multilateral diplomacy, retired in 1995 but was then persuaded to accept the position of Britain’s Special Representative for Cyprus. In this role he played an influential part in the UN-led effort to broker a settlement to the Cyprus conflict until the negotiations temporarily foundered in May 2003, when, with a mixture of relief and regret, he stepped down. (There is a postscript on the referendums held on the island in 2004 on the fifth version of Kofi Annan’s settlement plan.) He has written a brilliant account of the cour...

The Negotiator’s Secret: More than Merely Effective

Managing Global Chaos

Discourse on the Art of Negotiation

The translators of this modest, entirely abstract but nevertheless rather uplifting work on diplomacy, first published in French in 1737, are not new to the task of making the writings of Pecquet, a senior official in the French foreign ministry in the early eighteenth century, accessible to English readers, having earlier translated his philosophical tract, Diverse Thoughts on Man.

Environmental Diplomacy: Negotiating More Effective Global Agreements

Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning

Persuasion through negotiation at the Congress of Vienna 1814-1815

Dr Paul Meerts discusses persuasion in the context of the Vienna Congress (1814–1815), one of the most successful diplomatic events in history. The Vienna Congress created long-lasting peace and set the basic rules of multilateral diplomacy and protocol. Dr Meerts’s paper focuses on how the Vienna Congress addressed one of the main challenges of any negotiations: the more actors you have around the table, the less effective those negotiations are.

Talking to the Enemy: How states without ‘diplomatic relations’ communicate

‘This is an elegant little monograph on what Churchill once called ‘black-market diplomacy, that is, communication between states that, for one reason or another, for example, war, strained relations or non-recognition, lack the normal methods of diplomatic converse… This is illuminating work in an uncultivated field’, Percy Cradock, Prime Minister’s Foreign Policy Adviser, 1984-92, International Relations.

Negotiations: Social-Psychological Perspectives

Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In

The role of the diplomatic corps: the US-North Korea talks in Beijing, 1988-94

In J. Melissen (ed.), Innovation in Diplomatic Practice, pp. 214-30 (Macmillan, London, 1999), ISBN 0-333-69122-9/

Persuasion, the Essence of Diplomacy

This journey through persuasion in diplomacy was initiated by Professor Kappeler’s long experience in both practicing diplomacy and in training diplomats.

Multilateral Conferences: Purposeful International Negotiation

Ron Walker was a member of the Australian diplomatic service for 37 years, for the last 22 of which (1975-96) he specialized in multilateral diplomacy. His book on this subject is not an academic book. Instead he has done for multilateral diplomacy what Kishan Rana has done for bilateral diplomacy, namely, provided on the basis of long and wide experience, much at a senior level, a splendid handbook of practical advice for the novice.

Language and negotiation: A Middle East lexicon

Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): Professor Raymond Cohen writes that "when negotiation takes place across languages and cultures the scope for misunderstanding increases. So much of negotiation involves arguments about words and concepts that it cannot be assumed that language is secondary." With numerous examples of the culturally-grounded references, associations and nuances of certain words and phrases in English and the Middle Eastern languages (Arabic, Turkish, Farsi and Hebrew), Cohen introduces his project of developing a negotiating lexicon of the Middle East as a guide for condu...

Peacemaker’s Toolkit

American Negotiating Behaviour: Wheeler-Dealers, Legal Eagles, Bullies, and Preachers

The impact of communication media on negotiation outcomes

Our need to understand the impact of communication media on negotiation is growing as technological advances offer negotiators more communication options.

Ellsworth Bunker: Global Troubleshooter, Vietnam Hawk

Philosophy of Rhetoric

There are several reasons which have induced the author of the following sheets to give the public some account of their origin and progress, previously to tbgir coming unaer its examination. They are a series of Essays closely connected with one another, and written on a subject in the examination of which he has at […]

Persuasive Communication

Herding Cats: Multiparty Mediation in a Complex World

Review by Geoff Berridge

Track 2 diplomacy and Pakistan

Message on Switzerland’s International Cooperation in 2013-2016

Multilateral Conferences: Purposeful International Negotiation

Cursed is the Peacemaker: The American Diplomat Versus the Israeli General, Beirut 1982

Philip Habib, a Brooklyn-born son of Lebanese immigrants, joined the US Foreign Service in 1949. Tough, direct, highly intelligent, and a gifted negotiator, by 1965 he had achieved the position of political counsellor in the hottest of all US embassies, Saigon. Thereafter – with an interlude as ambassador to South Korea – he rose quickly to the top of the bureau of East Asian and Pacific affairs. In 1976 he was appointed undersecretary of state for political affairs, the number three job in the State Department. Such was his diplomatic reputation by this time that, despite having been appo...

Peacemaking 1919

Negotiating the Balkans: The Prenegotiation Perspective

The issues, the activities and the relations preceding the formal international negotiations have increasingly become an area of a special theoretical interest.

The Peace Brokers: Mediators in the Arab-Israeli Conflict, 1948-79

Diplomatic Theory from Machiavelli to Kissinger

Developing Countries: Victims or Participants? Their Changing Role in International Negotiations

Renegotiating Health Care: Resolving Conflict to Build Collaboration

The Roads from Rio: Lessons Learned from Twenty Years of Multilateral Environmental Negotiations

Negotiating Public Health in a Globalized World: Global Health Diplomacy in Action

International Negotiation in a Complex World

Back Channel to Cuba: The hidden history of negotiations between Washington and Havana

This book went to press after the much-publicised handshake between US president Barack Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro at the memorial service for Nelson Mandela in December 2013 – but before their historic, simultaneous announcements a year later, assisted by a prisoner exchange and the good offices of the Vatican, that they were resolved to end their 50 years of estrangement and normalise relations.

The Search for Peace

Don’t Think of an Elephant: Know Your Values and Frame the Debate

The Practical Negotiator

The Mediation Process: Practical Strategies for Resolving Conflict

Statecraft

Negotiating Health Development: A Guide for Practitioners

The Years of Talking Dangerously

Kosovo’s Final Status Negotiation Process: A Way Out or Cul de Sac

Kosovo's path towards independence proved to be a difficult, elongated and complex process that entailed political as well as legal implications that are argued by many scholars, and analysts nowadays.

Ambiguity versus precision: The changing role of terminology in conference diplomacy

Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): Of central concern in the field of negotiation is the use of ambiguity to find formulations acceptable to all parties. Professor Norman Scott looks at the contrasting roles of ambiguity and precision in conference diplomacy. He explains that while documents drafters usually try to avoid ambiguity, weaker parties to an agreement may have an interest in inserting ambiguous provisions, while those with a stronger position or more to gain will push for precision.

Peace Negotiations and Time: Deadline Diplomacy in Territorial Disputes

The UN and the world diplomatic system: lessons from the Cyprus and US- North Korea talks

In Bourantonis, D. and M. Evriviades (eds), A United Nations for the Twenty-First Century(Kluwer Law International, 1996), pp. 105-16

Camp David: Peacemaking and Politics

Humanitarian Negotiations with Armed Groups: A Manual and Guidelines for Practitioners

Persuasion

The International Climate Change regime: A Guide to Rules, Institutions and Procedures

Getting Past No: Negotiating Your Way from Confrontation to Cooperation

Language and Power

Persuasion as the step towards convergence in negotiations

The Diplomacy of Ancient Greece – A Short Introduction

Employed against a warlike background, the diplomatic methods of the ancient Greeks are thought by some to have been useless but by others to have been the most advanced seen prior to modern times.

On Behalf of My Delegation,…: A Survival Guide for Developing Country Climate Negotiators

The one hundred pages of this book are in fact a useful Survival Guide for those approaching climate change negotiations for the first time. It has been written for developing country delegates, but delegates from other countries can also profit from its reading the same way that a similar survival guide for industrialized country delegates would be useful for those coming from developing countries, because it is necessary to know both sides of the story

Talking to Americans: Problems of language and diplomacy

Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): Professor Paul Sharp discusses negotiation with American mediators. He notes that most literature on negotiation is written to advise Americans and other Westerners about negotiating with foreigners.

Ripeness theory and the Oslo talks

Cursed is the Peacemaker: The American Diplomat [Philip Habib] Versus the Israeli General, Beirut 1982

Consensus Rule Processes

Prenegotiation and Mediation: The Anglo-Argentine Diplomacy after the Falklands/Malvinas War (1983-1989)

This paper studies the process of prenegotiation and the role of mediators during the negotiations between the Argentine and British governments about the dispute over the sovereignty of the Falkland/Malvinas Islands from immediately after the war of 1982 to 1990. In this period, the relationship between both governments evolved from rupture and no-relations to the agreement on the conditions to negotiate the renewal of full diplomatic relations concluded in early 1990. In a preliminary process of prenegotiation, the governments of Switzerland, initially, and the United States played a ro...

EU Turkey negotiations: Obstacles to Turkey’s application to join the EU

Turkey’s accession to the European Union is one of the most controversial topics the EU faces. There is a division both between EU Politicians and European citizens about Turkey’s accession to the EU. For a number of factors, the Turkish application has not been perceived by the EU in the same way as other applications. In fact, various Chapters are blocked due to the uneasy relationship which exists between Turkey and some EU Member States.

Humanitarian Negotiation: A Handbook for Securing Access, Assistance, and Protection for Civilians in Armed Conflict

This project would not have been possible without the many humanitarian workers who shared their negotiation experience with us. Interviewees are too many in number to be listed separately, but we would like to thank in particular the staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Geneva, Switzerland, and Macedonia, the staff of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva and Côte d’Ivoire, the members of Save the Children, representatives and inhabitants of La Maison Carrée and the refugee women of Treichville in Côte d’Ivoire, as well a...

Nixon’s Trip to China

Secret Channels: The Inside Story of Arab-Israeli Peace Negotiations

Negotiating with the Chinese Communists: The United States Experience, 1953-1967

How the ‘inscrutables’ negotiate with the ‘inscrutables’: Chinese negotiating tactics vis-à-vis the Japanese

I had the opportunity to participate in the five major negotiations between China and Japan from 1972 to 1975 (i.e., the talks over the normalization of diplomatic relations, and the aviation, trade, shipping and fishery agreements), and to observe the tactics, both offensive and defensive, used by the Chinese participants. Personal impressions are bound to be biased, but fortunately there are at least two books which give us detailed accounts of negotiations between China and Japan in the post-war period. These are The Record of Fishery Talks between China and Japan and The Secret Memorandum ...

The Art of Diplomacy: The American Experience

Honey & Vinegar: Incentives, Sanctions & Foreign Policy

Buttressed by input from scholars, diplomats, and observers with an intimate knowledge of U.S. foreign policy, Honey and Vinegar examines "engagement"—strategies that primarily involve the use of positive incentives.

The Expert Negotiator: Strategy, Tactics, Motivation, Behaviour and Leadership

Communication barriers to negotiation: Encountering Chinese in cross-cultural business meetings

When two negotiating parties from different cultural backgrounds attempt to communicate, the potential for disagreement and misunderstanding is great. People from other cultural backgrounds, especially from the West, often find the behaviour of Chinese negotiators strange and unintelligible. This paper examines communication barriers between Chinese, Australian and American negotiators.

Getting to the Table: The Process of International Prenegotiation

In Confidence: Moscow’s Ambassador to Six Cold War Presidents

Negotiating across cultures

Negotiating and Navigating Global Health: Case Studies in Global Health Diplomacy

The Secret History of Dayton: U.S. Diplomacy and the Bosnia Peace Process 1995

Negotiating the International Health Regulations

Language and Diplomacy: Preface

Part of Language and Diplomacy (2001): In the preface below, Jovan Kurbalija and Hannah Slavik introduce the chapters in the book, and extract the general themes covered by the various authors.