Case Studies | 5 frequently asked questions about our negotiation simulations
What students want to know
If last week’s stalled negotiations in Vienna over Iran’s nuclear program tell us anything about diplomacy, it’s that negotiators require stamina, determination, and effective communication. However, as this case attempting to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal shows, the individual skill of negotiators is not always enough to reach an agreement. Entrenched ideologies, domestic political interests, and broader geopolitical competition all affect governments’ abilities to reach international agreements.
For these reasons and numerous others, hands-on negotiation training through simulated exercises provides crucial preparation for aspiring diplomats. ISD’s simulations and negotiations provide students of diplomacy with concrete experiential learning opportunities. In November 2021, we ran two negotiation simulations using materials prepared with input from serving U.S. diplomats. As students — the majority of whom are upper-level undergraduates at Georgetown’s DC and Qatar campuses — expressed in their post-simulation debrief, the exercises helped their verbal and written communication skills, their ability to prioritize, and their mediation skills. It also highlighted the importance of precise language and building a rapport with other participants.
In addition to the many learning outcomes from these exercises, there are a number of frequently asked questions from students. The following questions (and suggested answers) are particularly common during ISD simulations and may be useful to instructors:
- How do we “win” the simulation? Some students become fixated on “winning” the negotiation, or on “preventing” other teams from achieving their goals. If students take this approach, encourage them instead to consider how they can build trust with negotiators from other teams to find areas of common interest and potential compromise. The negotiation is not a zero-sum game, and the thorny nature of these issues makes it unlikely that one team will achieve all of its goals.
- How similar is the simulation to Model United Nations (MUN)? As in MUN, student negotiators represent country teams. However, unlike MUN, in this simulation students should focus less on drafting resolutions and linguistic details. Instead, the focus is on negotiating the substantive issues at play and to reach the broad outlines of an agreement, as well as to manage relationships both with fellow negotiators and their country capital.
- Why did you pick these particular country teams for the negotiation? We have found that simulations are most effective when there are no more than seven teams. Of course, there are invariably more than seven governments, international organizations, or other interested parties involved in the world’s most complex conflict and security challenges. In this case, the teams selected represent the broad balance of interests in the conflict: inside Libya, in the region, and globally. This makes for a balanced negotiation set-up, where all teams have something to gain/lose from the talks.
- Can we deviate from our confidential instructions? The confidential instructions are a starting point, the basis for each team’s strategy and tactics in the negotiation. Home capitals (played by simulation instructors) may choose to update confidential instructions as the negotiation progresses, or teams may request a change to their instructions over email. In any event, communication between the home capital and the negotiators at the table is a key element of the simulation. If negotiators are unsure about whether they have the authority to pursue a particular move, they should consult their home capital. Meanwhile, instructors should use the control room/capital to steer students if they are heading o course.
- Can we have more time to negotiate? The suggested time frames for each negotiation session serve as a guide, and are based on ISD’s experience running negotiation simulations. However, you may decide to give students more time to negotiate if an agreement is near or if it will generate a productive teaching moment. Time constraints exist in real-life negotiations as well, and deadlines can help to focus negotiators’ attention on reaching an agreement.
[Read more from ISD on running simulations in the virtual classroom]
In the coming months, we will continue to add new simulation materials to our online library, including on climate negotiations and Middle East regional security. Instructors who are interested in submitting materials for consideration for publication in the library can find more information on our website.
Alistair Somerville is the publications editor at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy at Georgetown University and editor of The Diplomatic Pouch. Follow him on Twitter @apsomerville
Read more from ISD on case studies and teaching:
