One of the many challenges brought to the fore by the Corona pandemic is that diplomats across the globe must keep the machinery of diplomacy functioning in a context of restricted travel and a patchwork of distancing measures. How can you still find compromise in such a setting? How do you create trust without face-to-face contacts? Can you recreate an informal process online?

These and many other questions were at the heart of the three-day EU negotiation training that Clingendael trainers provided last week to a group of diplomats from across the EU-27 Member States. The training was conducted from our Clingendael studios as part of the European Diplomatic Program, and saw the participants engage in a host of increasingly complex online EU-simulations, complemented with self-assessments and guided reflection.

Despite the many challenges discussed, the training also highlighted the negotiation opportunities provided by an online context. It showed that with a good internet connection and some technical preparation, online negotiations can still be constructive, in-depth and even full of diplomatic vigour when necessary.

Interested to see how Clingendael Academy can help you tackle your online negotiation challenges? Please contact Christiaan Nelisse (cnelisse@clingendael.org) for more information.