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Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (385-0-20)

Instructors

Danielle Gilbert

Meeting Info

Kresge Centennial Hall 2-435: Mon, Wed 11:00AM - 12:20PM

Overview of class

Negotiation is at the heart of politics. From peace processes, to budget reconciliation, to international treaties on human rights, climate, and trade, high-stakes political negotiations require actors to work through their differences. You, too, are engaged in negotiation any time you need others’ cooperation to get what you want. How should people resolve their differences? In this course, students will learn about the theory and practice of negotiation and conflict resolution. Through active learning about the substance and process of negotiating, students will learn how to craft creative solutions with a focus on interests, options, alternatives, relationships, communication, criteria, and commitment. Throughout the course, students will participate in simulation exercises and will be evaluated on their preparation, execution, and reflection from each exercise. We will tackle positional and principled negotiation, hard bargainers, cross-cultural negotiation, and multi-party negotiation. Beyond theory and practice, this course focuses on application: students will explore and assess real-world case studies from international and domestic politics. At the end of the course, students will draw on course lessons to evaluate a real-world political negotiation of their choosing. Success in this course requires active participation, innovative thinking, and the willingness to leave your comfort zone behind. This class was previously a Special Topics course, Political Science 390.

Registration Requirements

Attendance at first class required

It is recommended that students should have previously taken at least one of the following courses: Political Science 220 (American Government and Politics), Political Science 240 (Introduction to International Relations), or Political Science 250 (Introduction to Comparative Politics).

Learning Objectives

By the end of this course, students should be able to:

  1. Identify and define key concepts related to negotiation and conflict resolution, including: reservation points, ZOPA, interests, options, BATNA, principal-agent problems, criteria, and credible commitments;
  2. Apply the principles of negotiation in practical exercises in distributive, integrative, and multi-party negotiations;
  3. Assess and reflect on your own negotiation style, strengths, and areas for improvement;
  4. Evaluate and critique real-world political negotiations and conflicts.

Teaching Method

Class sessions will alternate between in-class negotiation exercises, lecture, and facilitated discussion.

Evaluation Method

Students will be assessed on their preparation, execution, and reflection on a series of in-class negotiation exercises. Students will also write a final paper. There is no final exam in Political Science 385.

Class participation (attendance required): 20%
Negotiation preparation worksheets: 25%
Negotiation reflection papers: 25%
Final paper and related assignments: 30%

Class Materials (Required)

Roger Fisher, William Ury, and Bruce Patton. Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In. New York: Penguin Books, 2011. ISBN: 978-0143118756.

Weiss, Jeff. HBR Guide to Negotiating. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation, 2016. ISBN: 978-1633690769.

Students will also be required to purchase licenses for 7 in-class negotiation exercises.

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for Political Science students until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites. Prerequisites: POLI_SCI 220-0 American Government and Politics, POLI_SCI 240-0 Introduction to International Relations, or POLI_SCI 250-0 Introduction to Comparative Politics.