Goodwin D.

“Military and negotiation”

Review by Maria Kudlay
The book “The military and Negotiation” presents a detailed analysis of the role of the
military in current operations as negotiators and liaison workers in the field. It shows how
very few in the academic world are writing on this specific role of the military and the nature
of negotiation in this situation, and such a volatile context. This publication is a first in this
context, and has a keen audience in light of the current world order.
This study breaks new ground in analyzing the nature of military negotiation in
relation to more generic forms of negotiation, and assessing the role of the modern soldier
diplomat in recent deployments around the world. The author is an academic working within
the military environment, very few people have the same capacity and accessibility to
firsthand evidence and observation. Whilst peacekeeping has grown in the last decade or so,
no-one has successfully investigated the role of the military and their approach to non-
violent conflict resolution on the ground as few have access to such work to make a viable
detailed assessment of the nature of negotiation in a violent context, but Dr. Goodwin is able
to do so.
The author has divided the book into two chapters and started woks really as a
professional researcher. Firstly, Goodwin give a review of previous literature on the nature
of military negotiation. He makes a conclusion that extant discussion tends to be limited to
sections in broad-based military training manuals that outline general procedures to be
followed if personnel find themselves negotiating on operations. These procedural rules are
necessarily brief and instructional, and seek to define the behavioral response to be taken in
any negotiation. However, the fundamental issues and dilemmas involved in tactical-level
military negotiation are rarely assessed in any detailed manner.
Than Goodwin starts describing main models of negotiations. A BATNA (Best
Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement) sets the value threshold that any acceptable
negotiated agreement must exceed, and implies the existence, or absence, of what may be
described as a Zone of Possible Agreement (ZOPA) in any negotiation (whether it is viable
to negotiate at all). It may also describe the options that the negotiator has other than
continuing to negotiate and thus might influence the tone and nature of that negotiation. The
author points out that existence of the BATNA is a vital factor in tactical military
negotiation, where decisions have to be made in life-threatening environments.
The next part of the first chapter is devoted to the importance of situational influences.
Goodwin points out two main factors: context and culture. Knowledge of the context within
which the negotiation is occurring can influence the style, approach and impetus within the
negotiation itself. External factors, such as political security, social standing, the amenability
of the environment, physical threats, whom the negotiator represents and why, might
influence decisions made and the desired outcome. The issue of culture appears to be one of
the key elements in the modelling of a negotiation process, especially in accepting the
context within which individual or societal decisions may be made. To ignore cultural factors
is to ignore a significant influence on both the general context of a negotiation and the
approach of the individuals towards the process.
The significance of linguistic skills was touched upon in the last part of the first
chapter. Language is of paramount importance in negotiation, with the process per se being a
communication exchange. Language is the vehicle by which information and ideas are
traded, and through which the issues of cooperation, competitiveness, threats and interests
can be voiced. Because so much is invested in the linguistic element of a negotiation,
problems and misinterpretations may arise from either the poor use of language or the
misunderstanding of its implicit meanings.
The second part of the book is devoted to the case studies. Author has been selected
three specific cases to test and evaluate the hypothesis that tactical military negotiation
reveals an unusual amalgam of negotiation factors.
A peacekeeping mission in reveals important issues in confrontational and necessarily
dangerous and volatile negotiating contexts. The all-encompassing issues of interests,
culture, communication, creativity and cooperation apply, and thus suggest their importance
in this form of negotiation. It also disproves the game theory contention that parties enter a
negotiation with equal understanding and knowledge.
Similar situations to the experience of the NGO worker in Liberia were encountered
during the early years of the United Nations presence in Bosnia. In particular, the United
Nations Protection Force deployment was fraught with difficulties, many of which stemmed
from uncertainties concerning negotiation work, and involving the issues raised here.
According to Goodwin a detailed study of this deployment allows further assessment of the
importance of these factors in tactical-level military negotiation, and continue the
investigation as to whether the proposed ‘model’ of what might be expected to happen in
military negotiation contexts does so in practice.
The situation in Sierra Leone vividly illustrates the importance of the BATNA in
military tactical negotiations, as it is a constant threat and a ploy which either side could
choose to employ at any stage, particularly if they feel that negotiations are proceeding
badly.
At the end of the book the author gives suggestions for future research. Goodwin says
that future research might explore the effect of behavioral factors such as personality, culture
or communication upon decision making in more detail, but is likely to be grounded in a
specific negotiation context, in most cases. Analysis of many important nuances and
components of the process of negotiation allowed for the subsequent appraisal of factors that
play an important part in military negotiation.