The channel tunnel negotiations, 1984–1986: Some aspects of the process and its outcome

Conclusion The negotiations leading to a decision to build a fixed link across the channel and to agree on a joint scheme and its mode of operation provide an interesting illustration of a basically non-conflictual, complex, multiple-issue, multipleactor, multiple-event negotiation. Obviously stakes, interests, constraints, goals, and expectations were not similar, but the parties involved took advantage of a ripe moment to act on an undertaking that had first been envisaged almost two centuries ago.The Eurotunnel operation is an important experiment in bi-national cooperation in economic matters. True, negotiations were not easy and differences did and still do exist. But this huge joint venture—whatever view is taken on its merits in terms of allocation of resources and relative priority compared to other large investment opportunities—is often evaluated in terms of its impact on the relationship between two nations which are part of a complex endeavor toward large-scale integration. For the researcher on negotiation, it provides a range of case studies through which to examine the applicability and relevance of concepts and methodologies. This article is a first approach at analysis, but constitutes only a small part of the research potential of the project. Christophe Dupont is a professor of negotiation at Lille University (Faculty of Business Administration) and is also associated with a management research center, Centre des Recherches et d'Études des Chefs d'Enterprises, 76350 Jouy-en-Josas, France. He is the author ofLa Négociation: Conduite, théorie, applications (Paris: Dalloz), the third edition of which will be published in 1990.The research for this article was sponsored by Agence Régionale de Développement, Lille, France. The research involved three different topics, of which only the third is referred to here. The interpretations reflect the author's views based on official documentation and interviews both in France and in the United Kingdom. A preliminary listing of issues—not covering most aspects dealt with here—was presented to the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) conference at the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Vienna, in May 1987 in a paper titled Negotiating a research project on negotiation: The Fixed Link (Transchannel) prenegotiation.     

The Use of Force—Stability and Instability: India,Pakistan, and China

This article evaluates the source of instability and stability in the India-Pakistan dyad and the Sino-Indian dyad. Challenging the dominant thesis that “means determine ends,” the article posits that the use of force by Pakistan renders the India-Pakistan relationship unstable, whereas the Sino-Indian relationship is significantly more stable because of the absence of force. The difference in the state of stability in both dyads is because the weaker state, Pakistan in its conflict with India has failed to accept the verdict of its military defeats. This failure to internalize irreversible military outcomes makes Pakistan particularly susceptible to employing forcible solutions to settle its dispute with India over Kashmir. The reality reverses in the Sino-Indian territorial dispute, in that India has implicitly accepted its military loss against China in 1962 and charted a diplomatic pathway in resolving the boundary dispute.     

The “New Look” of German Diplomacy: The West German Foreign Service after the Second World War

When established in 1951, the West German Foreign Office resembled its pre-1945 Berlin Ministry predecessor in many ways. Notably, about 45 percent of Bonn’s diplomats came from the old service. Such continuities raised concerns about a restoration of old diplomatic traditions and attitudes. However, significant changes in German diplomacy—its West German variant—soon became evident, not least in terms of diplomatic style and methods. This analysis explores how the Foreign Office’s staff adopted, promoted, or rejected such changes. It assesses institutional processes of transformation and examines why diplomats were willing to “re-learn” diplomacy after the Second World War. Likewise evaluated are the problems and limits of re-orientation. By focussing on (dis)continuities within the Foreign Service in the 1950s and 1960s, the analysis contributes to the general field of research on processes of transition in West Germany after the end of the Third Reich.     

Political Cleavages in Indigenous Representation: The Case of the Norwegian and Swedish Sámediggis

Abstract

Using Lipset and Rokkan’s cleavage theory in an Indigenous context, the article compares political cleavages in internal Sámi politics in Norway and Sweden. The authors discuss the historical legacies of each country’s policies toward the Sámi and subsequent development of party systems before using survey data to analyze cleavages within the Sámi electorates. The analysis shows a prominent cleavage in Sámi politics in Norway regarding the extent of Sámi self-determination, whereas the main cleavage in Sweden can be found in the category-split between reindeer herders and other Sámi created by state policy. Contemporary cleavages in Indigenous politics may, thus, be deeply rooted in nation-building processes.     

New Insights into Coalition Negotiations—The Case of German Government Formation

Research on coalition negotiations after general elections in parliamentary systems usually focuses on the parties’ utility maximization as corporate actors. However, the most recent process of government formation after the German general election in 2017 followed a different type of logic and led to an outcome unlike that of other coalition negotiations. Regarding policy seeking, office seeking, and vote seeking, the outcomes of both the exploratory talks between Christlich Demokratische Union (CDU)/Christlich-Soziale Union (CSU), Freie Demokratische Partei, and the Greens and the negotiations between CDU/CSU and Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands are at least partly irrational from a cost–benefit analysis. This article examines the formation of Germany’s government in 2017–2018 and reveals the paradoxical outcomes of each phase of the negotiations. Empirical data to underpin the argument stem from interviews with negotiators and statements of direct participants in the formation of the coalition. Instead of the parties’ utility maximization, negotiations were largely dominated by intraparty conflicts, in which individual interests and personal trust rather than partisan unitary programs were most relevant to the negotiation process and outcome. Our work answers the question of why the grand coalition was unexpectedly renewed in the end—contrary to what might be predicted based on established theories of coalition building. The observations and conclusions set forth are of general interest not only for future coalition negotiations in Germany but also for other European parliamentary democracies facing increasing party fragmentation. Most importantly, the analysis yields insights into negotiations undertaken in the absence of rationalist behavior.     

The Welcome Asians: the Japanese in Mexico, 1897–1910

This article focuses on the development of diplomatic relations between Japan and Mexico in the second half of the nineteenth century, culminating in the Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation between the two nations in 1888, and the subsequent effect the positive relationship between the two nations had on Japanese immigration to Mexico. Based on a spirit of reciprocity and equal status, the treaty resulted in a favourable opinion regarding Japan and the Japanese in Mexico that had a direct influence on the way in which Japanese immigrants to Mexico were viewed and treated, which stands in sharp contrast to the experiences of other Japanese migrant communities in the Americas. Viewed as agents of modernization, Japanese immigrants were welcomed or viewed neutrally by Mexican government officials and average citizens. The article also explains why, despite this positive relationship, Mexico never became a large-scale destination for Japanese immigration.     

A “German Paperchase”: The “Scrap of Paper” Controversy and the Problem of Myth and Memory in International History

abstract

Anglo‐Russian relations during the period 1894–1914 were filled with incidents in large part stemming from the very different social and political frameworks of the two countries. The two countries had sharply differing traditions concerning individual liberty, freedom of the press and other such matters usually covered by the rubric of human rights. While the realities of great power politics forced the two countries to work together, it is not surprising that their collaboration was often marred by clashes of political and social sensibilities.     

The “sleep-walking giant” awakes: resetting German foreign and security policy

A quarter of a century after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the role of the Bundesrepublik in Europe is once again the focus of international scrutiny and academic debate. Having long been seen as a “reflexive multilateralist” and “tamed power”, with a “leadership avoidance reflex” and a “civilian power” strategic culture, the Eurozone crisis has pushed the Berlin Republic into the role of “reluctant hegemon”. At the same time, however, Germany has been widely criticized by its EU and NATO partners for its half-hearted commitment to the Afghan war and its failure to support its allies in the Libyan intervention. Prompted by a call by Federal President Joachim Gauck in 2013 for Germany to live up to its international responsibilities, new themes in foreign and security policy have recently emerged. At the Munich Security Conference in February 2014, a more active and engaged approach was outlined by both the Foreign and Defence Ministers. This paper will examine recent shifts in the discourse of German foreign and security policy, and considers the extent to which these have been accompanied by significant shifts in policy outcome and implementation – particularly in the light of the Ukrainian crisis.     

Relationships,learning, and trust: lessons from the SNV–RECOFTC partnership

The term ‘partnership’ has become a watch-word for development organisations that aim to mobilise the resources and collaboration needed to achieve long-term goals such as poverty reduction and sustainable resource management. Achieving effective collaboration in practice, however, can be challenging. This article adds to recent discussions on what makes effective partnerships, offering lessons from an on-going partnership between RECOFTC (Regional Community Forestry Training Center for Asia and the Pacific) and SNV (Netherlands Development Organisation). Key findings include the observation that the role of individuals in maintaining partnerships often goes unrecognised and needs to be supported in appropriate ways; clearly defined and focused areas of collaboration are essential; a formal basis for the partnership needs to be backed with strong informal communication and collaboration processes; and, while partners bring distinctive knowledge and networks to a partnership, some degree of evenness in the scale and type of resources committed to the partnership is important.     

The UNGA—a talking shop? Exploring rationales for the repetition of resolutions in subsequent negotiations

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is frequently criticized as being an inefficient talking shop. Such criticism is partially due to the fact that UNGA resolutions are not legally binding, and partially due to the considerable share of resolutions that are debated repeatedly in multiple UNGA sessions. This article shows that more than half of the resolutions on the negotiation agenda of the UNGA in a given year are not novel, but have been discussed in the same arena in the past. As this increases the negotiation workload and also the capacity requirements of the member states, the widespread phenomenon of repetitions is puzzling. Therefore, the article examines the reasons behind reoccurring resolutions. It distinguishes between incrementalist and symbolic rationales and sheds light on the different motivations for repetitions in a series of case studies. This reveals that both rationales matter for repeating resolutions and that neither symbolic politics nor incrementalism are confined to specific types of issues or actors.     

Routes of funding,roots of trust? Northern NGOs,Southern NGOs,donors, and the rise of direct funding

This paper, based on a review of SIDA's funding of NGOs in Bangladesh, explores the changing relationships between bilateral donors, Northern NGOs (NNGOs), and Southern NGOs (SNGOs). It compares direct and indirect funding routes between donors and SNGOs. Most SIDA funding of SNGOs was previously undertaken through Swedish NGOs. As SNGO competence and capacity has increased through their own efforts at professionalisation, through wider recognition and support from government and by the provision of 'capacity building' partnerships with NNGOs, these Southern organisations have taken up positions within the burgeoning 'third sectors' of aid-recipient countries alongside the governmental and business sectors. SIDA has increasingly funded SNGOs directly through its Dhaka office. The paper sets out to address two main themes in the context of Swedish aid to NGOs in Bangladesh. Firstly, as bilateral donors provide an increasing proportion of their resources to NGOs, how can sound and responsible funding relationships based on mutual trust be built between bilateral donors and NGOs? Secondly, how can NNGOs work usefully in contexts where the number and capacity of local SNGOs has expanded significantly?     

The Area of Freedom,Security and Justice: The Construction of a ‘European Public Order’

Abstract

Despite the significant growth the Area of Freedom, Justice and Security (AFSJ) has seen recently, it is still comparatively under-researched. The main argument of the article is that norms have been constructed over recent years in such a way that the AFSJ has set a project in motion which aims to create a veritable ‘European Public Order’. This change has not come overnight though, and it has been normatively constructed over the past decade. In agreement with Christiansen, it is argued that a constructivist institutionalist approach may be best suited to analyse these developments, representing one of the new ‘high points’ of European construction. Four different stages of development are examined, i.e. the pre- and post-Maastricht, the Amsterdam and Tampere, and the Constitutional Treaty phases. These developments have now significantly altered the norm of national sovereignty in EU internal security. As a consequence of this, some of the most spectacular changes in the EU can be expected in this area in the future with the new five-year ASFJ programme agreed in The Hague.     

Arbitrator in a World of Wars: The League of Nations and The Mosul Dispute, 1924–1925

The League of Nations is primarily remembered for its failures in the 1930s. Indeed, the established perception of its history usually emphasizes weaknesses. Failing to settle the question of which Power should possess the former Ottoman province of Mosul after the First World War, Turkey saw the dispute addressed to the League in summer 1924. Within a short time, a multi-leveled negotiation process that involved a large number of politicians, diplomats, and lawyers was put in motion. Sixteen months and many crises later, the League Council awarded the entire Mosul province to Iraq. The arbitration had been based upon data collected by two enquiry commissions comprising representatives from eight different Powers, the work of both numerous mediators, and a Council sub-committee. Though certainly not perfect, the League's role averted war and renewed disaster.     

The “Finlandisation” of Finland: The Ideal Type,the Historical Model,and the Lessons Learnt

“Finlandisation” has become a buzzword and suggested solution to the on-going Ukrainian crisis. However, in Finland, Finlandisation tends to be a pejorative term because of its negative effects on Finnish domestic politics. Negative effects notwithstanding, Finland’s Cold War experience often appears as a success: it preserved its democratic system, prospered economically, and strengthened its international status. This analysis examines the historical evidence of what role Finlandisation—understood as a policy of collaboration and friendship with the greatest potential security threat to a country’s sovereignty and as a political culture related to that policy—played during the Cold War era. Did the strategy of accommodation go too far and was it superfluous to Finland’s survival and success? In this context, the article also discusses the “dangers” of Finlandisation and the gradual end of the policy.     

Britain and Kashmir, 1948: “The Arena of the UN”

The Jammu and Kashmir dispute of 1947–1949 between India and Pakistan became the first inter-state conflict to be discussed at the United Nations Security Council. This analysis looks at the views of the government and the delegation of Great Britain, one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, on Kashmir through the year of 1948. It argues that the British attitude was determined more by Imperial and Commonwealth strategic and ideological imperatives in South and Central Asia and the Middle East and less by the merits of the cases of the disputants. Operating within the twin backdrop of decolonisation and the Cold War, the British official mind juggled Kashmir's accession to India, India's complaint of aggression against Pakistan, and Pakistan's demand for a plebiscite in Kashmir with an eye to their own hopes and fears in a region that it understood as the key vantage on Communism and Islam.