Prenegotiations

Pre-negotiation is not merely “talks about talks” to buy out time in its literal meaning or it does not address the design of an outcome but it facilitates and focuses on the process of the intended negotiation. The objective of pre-negotiation is to identify and seek mutual agreement over the problems but it does not tackle beyond definition. Moreover it concerns procedures, structures, roles, and agendas in order to assist negotiations. Many scholars are agreed on the importance of the pre-negotiation but have provided with different ingredients of the subject matter that includes Zartman, Harris and Reilly, Berridge, Ball et al and Corbacho.

The essay will begin with the key concepts of pre-negotiations and include the details that how the agendas and procedures are agreed upon for negotiations in these concepts respectively. Moreover the potential advantages and risks will be considered and discussed throughout the essay.

Analysis
o Berridge (2005): essential to pre-negotiations is to reach agreements on three subject matters between all the parties involved.
o To agree that there is a need to negotiate: this helps to establish a system to achieve agreement.
o To agree on the agenda: this mean to filter out the issues to be resolved, and the not resolvable issues in the conflict; thus giving a focus on the subject matter
o To agree on the procedure of negotiations i.e. format, venue, delegations and timing: firstly, the said input in the procedure ensures responsibility of the parties to participate, secondly, as once the decisions are made and details are agreed to negotiate it is very difficult to step back from the negotiations without negative implications.
o Preliminary contacts between the entire involved parties can not only help to establish the negotiation progress that may make it more feasible at some future stage but also can bring the progressing towards the direct talks closer.
o As a result during the pre-negotiation stage, the...