Robert Mnookin (Harvard Law School)
First-Year Seminar 73Q | 4 Credits (Fall 2024) | CANVAS SITE
Tuesday, 3:00 PM – 5:00 PM
This seminar will explore the role of negotiation in terminating wars. It is commonly thought that wars end after a decisive military battle produces a conclusive victory – one side surrenders and the other side emerges victorious. In fact, recent history suggests things are typically much more complicated: negotiations between the disputants commonly play a critical role in ending armed conflict. One only must consider Korea, Vietnam, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
This seminar will initially introduce students to some core ideas relating to negotiation and bargaining theory. Through readings, we will then explore how several wars in fact evolved. We will ask why did the war begin, and did the disputants first attempt to avoid armed conflict through negotiations? To what extent, if any, did negotiations between the combatants end the fighting? We will see that while the expectations and aims of the combatants are typically deeply opposed at the beginning of a war, over time they often converge toward an agreement to stop fighting. In such cases, what produces this convergence? To what extent do factors far removed from the battlefield – economic, political, and social – contribute to the success of negotiations?
In addition to readings, students will engage in a few negotiations related exercises and simulations in class.