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New PINPoints #42 - Clingendael’s negotiation magazine: now available

23 Dec 2015 - 13:45
Source: Source: Symon Maks. The Past Overshadows the Present.
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As 2015 has almost come to an end, this 42nd edition of PinPoints reflects both positive and negative trends with respect to the most recent and ongoing international negotiations. The Iranian nuclear deal has demonstrated that even an increasingly divided international community can work together; the Paris climate talks seem to have delivered more than any climate summit since Kyoto; and the trade talks in the Pacific have exhibited the possibility for a large and diverse group of countries to reach a substantial agreement, despite the presence of standards and approaches that vary significantly.

Conversely, reflecting on the more intricate and stagnant negotiations, the European Union has recently seen some of its most divisive and destructive negotiation with extreme bargaining between the Eurogroup and Greece as well as the massive tensions surrounding refugees – consequently putting strain on notions of solidarity and consensus in EU-decision-making. Meanwhile, the Minsk process has largely stalled, indicating increased tensions and security threats in Eurasia. The chances for new Syrian talks have suddenly increased during the last few months, but the opportunities for success are nonetheless more difficult to estimate. In South-Sudan an agreement has been reached, but it remains to be seen how permanent the agreement actually is.

These events are providing analysts with plenty of new questions, many of which have been included in the articles of this Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) program publication.

In issue #42:

  • Guy Olivier Faure writes about the Paris attacks in November and the French response as to these events.
  • Paul Meerts continues with an analysis of the Greek-Eurozone negotiations.
  • Rudolf Schüssler assesses the outcome of the successful UN Climate Conference in Paris, using both released and upcoming PIN works.
  • In his contribution, Mikhail Troitskiy emphasizes the importance of a mediator’s commitment during negotiations by distinguishing between different types of mediators.
  • Mordechai Melamud analyses the (meta) narratives in the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
  • Mark Anstey examines the peace process in South-Sudan. Partly motivated by his recent work for Clingendael in Juba, he assesses the prospects of success of the recent South-Sudan peace accord.
  • Sander des Tombe and Paul Meerts make use of the Thomas Kilmann model on conflict handling modes to analyze possible cultural differences in terms of preference for certain handling modes.
  • In their article Andrea Kupfer Schneider and Christopher Honeyman describe their edited volume of The Negotiator’s Fieldbook. The book represents a very comprehensive overview of the current state of affairs within the field of research dealing with negotiation.
  • This issue of PINPoints furthermore includes an article on the PIN roadshow in Montenegro and an article by Judith van den Boogert based on a policy lab on inclusivity in peace negotiations.
  • Finally, this edition of PINPoints announces the start of a new PIN research project on Negotiating Security in Eurasia.

Download and read the new PINPoints here

PINPoints is the network magazine of the Processes of International Negotiation (PIN) and published bi-annually by Clingendael.