CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATION, INTER-GROUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND
THE ROLE OF NGO'S
P11.4105/U10.2305 - Spring 2012
Instructor: Allen J. Zerkin, J.D.
Mailbox: #91, Puck Building, third floor
Phone: (212) 998-7494
Fax: (212) 995-4162
Email: allen.zerkin@nyu.edu
Office hours: Wednesdays 5:20-6:20pm, in adjunct office 3047 – an appointment is strongly advised
Course description:
Beyond the basics of negotiation lie areas of greater complexity. One such area is the realm of culture. Though
culture includes etiquette and behavior, at a deeper level it is about consciousness and worldview. In the first half
of the course, we will consider:
 The challenges of doing cultural analysis;
 Frameworks of cultural variables for understanding negotiation styles;
 Empirical studies about the differences that culture appears to make in the negotiation process; and
 Guidelines for becoming an effective intercultural negotiator.
The second focus of the course is on the theory and practice of inter-group conflict resolution, which often has an
important intercultural component, and the role of NGOs in that work. NGOs often do play an important role in
reconciliation processes, both during and after violent conflicts. The readings for this section of the course will
consider the challenges of and possible best practices regarding the use of inter-group processes to reduce tensions.
The final session will largely be devoted to playing and discussing an interethnic conflict simulation.
Course requirements:
Active class participation (class attendance is mandatory) – 10%.
Memo on the “Hans Brandt” video – 25%
List the aspects of German culture that you might want to take into account if you were the manager in the
video before responding to Hans Brandt. Cite a source for each aspect you list and explain succinctly what
implications that aspect would have for your response, regardless of whether you would do that at the
moment when the video leaves off or at a later meeting. Maximum two double- spaced pages.. Email to
me by March 19.
Final paper - 65%
Maximum five double-spaced pages (not counting a cover page and bibliography), using Times New
Roman 10-point font and 1” margins. Submit electronically as a Word attachment by April 15 – no pdf”s,
please. See “Writing Assignment” on Blackboard for details. My evaluation of the paper will be primarily
based on your ability to demonstrate that you have studied the course readings and reflected on the class
discussions and can apply their lessons. You should therefore cite course readings and class discussions
whenever possible – you can put footnotes at the bottom of the page or in parentheses in the text (author,
title if there is more than one title by the author in the readings, page number). Either way, add a final
bibliography page. Though content is paramount, grammar, punctuation, spelling, clarity and professional
presentation all matter, and no paper with more than occasional errors can receive a grade better than B+,
regardless of content.
Course materials:
Purchase at the Professional Bookstore:
Brett, Negotiating Globally: How to Negotiate Deals, Resolve Disputes, and Make Decisions Across
Cultural Boundaries, 2d edition; San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007
Bamara Border Dispute simulation materials
Articles are posted on Blackboard, under Course Documents
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CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATION, INTER-GROUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND
THE ROLE OF NGO'S
P11.4105/U10.2305 - Spring 2012
Session 1 - Friday, February 24: (9:00 am – 1:15 pm) – Waverly room 569
Approaches to Understanding Cross-Cultural Negotiation, part one
Readings:
The role of culture in negotiation and management
Avruch, K. and P.W. Black, "Conflict resolution in intercultural settings: Problems and prospects,"
especially 131-141, in Conflict Resolution Theory and Practice: Integration and Application, Sandole and
van der Merwe, eds., Manchester, England: Manchester University Press; 1993
Cohen, R., "Resolving Conflict Across Languages," pp. 17-34, Negotiation Journal, Jan. 2001
Cohen, R., “Conflict Resolution across Cultures: Bridging the Gap,” pp. 120-125, in Jacquin-Berdal et al,
eds. Culture in World Politics; NY, NY: St. Martin’s Press, 1998
Sebenius, J., "The Hidden Challenge of Cross-Border Negotiations," p. 80, Harvard Bus. Rev., Mar. ‘02
Thiederman, S., pp. mid-126-143, Bridging Cultural Barriers for Corporate Success: How to Manage the
Multicultural Work Force; NY, NY: Lexington Books, 1991
Cultural variables and negotiation - general
Watkins, M. & S. Rosegrant, “Cultural Barriers” section of Chapter 4, pp. 73-79, Breakthrough
International Negotiation; San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2001
Harris, P.R. & R.T. Moran, pp. 61-62, Managing Cultural Differences, Third edition, Houston, TX: Gulf
Publishing Company, 1988
Salacuse, J., "Ten Ways Culture Affects Negotiation Style," pp. 221-240, Negotiation Journal, July 1998
Graham, J., “The Japanese Negotiation Style: Characteristics of a Distinct Approach," Negotiation Journal,
April 93
Greig, F,, “Propensity to Negotiate and Career Advancement: Evidence from an Investment Bank that
Women Are on a ‘Slow Elevator’, Negotiation Journal, October 2008, pp. 495-508
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CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATION, INTER-GROUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND
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P11.4105/U10.2305 - Spring 2012
Session 2 - Friday, March 9: (9:00 am – 1:15 pm)
Approaches to Understanding Cross-Cultural Negotiation, part two
Inter-ethnic Conflict Resolution, part one
Discussion assignment #1 for session 2: Working with one or more fellow students, compare the Weiss & Stripp
and Salacuse models of negotiation variables and be prepared to speak about what is exactly consistent, what is
reconciliable, and what is inconsistent about them. You may be called upon in class to discuss this.
Discussion assignment #2 for session 2: Imagine that you are a project leader for an international NGO providing
relief and other services to displaced persons camps in Abyei, one of the so-called Three Areas sectors disputed by
Sudan and South Sudan. Most of the displaced persons are from non-Muslim black African tribes. A particular
town is strategically located on a road along which your next convoy must pass because of the recent widespread
and severe flooding, which has closed all other roads in the region. Your next convoy, carrying vital food,
medicines and other urgent relief supplies, is being organized and is scheduled to pass through the town in two
weeks’ time. You are going to have to negotiate with the Sudanese Armed Forces garrison commander in the town
to secure safe passage for the convoy. You have not previously dealt with him, but you know he is a Sudanese Arab
and a Sunni Muslim. (For the purposes of the discussion, assume that the cultural factors that would apply to Sunni
Muslim Arabs in the Middle East and the North African Maghreb are typical of Sudanese Arabs as well.
Your assignment is to plan your negotiation:
1. Before meeting with the garrison commander, what would you want to know and what would you want to
do?
2. What principles would guide you in your meeting?
3. To the extent that you already have pertinent information and knowledge, what can you say about your
strategy for the negotiation?
For more information about this region and the history of the conflict there, please see:
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/sudan/docs/sudan_strategy.pdf
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/sudan/
http://www.usaid.gov/locations/sub-saharan_africa/countries/sudan/docs/update_sep07.pdf
Assignment due by email March 19: List the aspects of German culture that you might want to take into account if
you were the manager in the video before responding to Hans Brandt. Cite a source for each aspect you list and
explain succinctly what implications that aspect would have for your response, regardless of whether you would do
that at the moment when the video leaves off or at a later meeting. Maximum two double- spaced pages.
Assignment for session 3: Prepare with your team for the Bamara Border Dispute simulation
Readings:
Cultural variables and negotiation – general (continued)
Brett, J.M., Negotiating Globally: How to Negotiate Deals, Resolve Disputes, and Make Decisions Across
Cultural Boundaries, 2d edition; San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2007; pp. 25-52, bottom 57-153, 175218, bottom 260-top 271, 279-287
Hofstede, G., G.J. Hofstede and M. Minkov, excerpts from Cultures and Organizations: Software of the
Mind, 3d edition; New York, NY: McGraw Hill; 2010
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CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATION, INTER-GROUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND
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P11.4105/U10.2305 - Spring 2012
Optional: Excerpts regarding the methodological underpinnings of Hofstede et al, ibid.
Cultural variables and negotiation – Arabic culture
Alon, I. and J.M. Brett, “Perceptions of Time and Their Impact on Negotiations in the Arabic-Speaking
Islamic World,” pp. 55-73, Negotiation Journal, January 2007
Salem, P., “A Critique of Western Conflict Resolution from a Non-Western Perspective,” Negotiation
Journal, October 1993
Abu-Nimer, M. “An Islamic Model of Conflict Resolution: Principles and Challenges“, Chapter 4 in Huda,
ed., Crescent and Dove: Peace and Conflict Resolution in Islam; Washington, D.C.: United States Institute
of Peace; 2010.
Ramsbotham, O., T. Woodhouse & H. Miall, excerpts on “Islam and conflict resolution,” pp. 311-313,
Contemporary Conflict Resolution, Second Edition; Cambridge, UK: Policy Press; 2005
Cultural variables and negotiation – other cultures
Richmond, Y. and P. Gestrin, excerpts from Into Africa: A Guide to Sub-Saharan Culture and Diversity, 2nd
edition; Boston, MA: Intercultural Press; 2009.
Excerpts from W.R. Smyser, How Germans Negotiate: Logical Goals, Practical Solutions, Washington,
D.C.; United States Institute of Peace Press; 2003
Optional: Lederach, J.P., “Of Nets, Nails, and Problems: The Folk Language of Conflict Resolution in a
Central American Setting,” pp. 165-186, in Avruch, Black and Scimecca, eds., Conflict Resolution: CrossCultural Perspectives; New York, NY: Greenwood Press; 1991
Culture and organizations
Optional: Excerpts on “International Politics and International Organizations” in Hofstede et al, op. cit.
Developing intercultural effectiveness
Harris & Moran, op. cit., pp. 104-105
Weiss, S., "Negotiating with 'Romans': A Range of Culturally Responsive Strategies," Sloan Management
Review, Winter 1994, pp. 51-61
Salacuse, J.W., "Implications for Practitioners," pp. 204-208, Faure & Rubin, eds., Culture and
Negotiation: The Resolution of Water Disputes, Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 1993
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CROSS-CULTURAL NEGOTIATION, INTER-GROUP CONFLICT RESOLUTION, AND
THE ROLE OF NGO'S
P11.4105/U10.2305 - Spring 2012
Session 3 - Friday, March 30: (9:00 am – 1:15 pm)
Inter-ethnic Conflict Resolution, part two
Assignment:
Prepare with your team for the Bamara Border Dispute simulation
Readings:
Inter-group conflict resolution – theory and practice
Montville, J., “The healing function in political conflict resolution,” Chapter 8, in Sandole and van der
Merwe, eds., op. cit.; 1993
Brady, R., “Post-Conflict Societies: Reconciling Pragmatism with Principle,” a review of Daly & Sarkin,
Reconciliation in Divided Societies, pp. 181-187, Negotiation Journal, April 2008
Rouhana, N.N. and S.H. Korper, “Dealing with the Dilemmas Posed by Power Asymmetry in Intergroup
Conflict,” Negotiation Journal, October 1996
Pettigrew, T.F., “Inter-group contact theory,” Annual Review of Psychology, 49: 65-85; 1998
Ross, M.H., “Creating the conditions for peacemaking: Theories of practice in ethnic conflict resolution,”
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 23: 1002-1034; 2000
Maoz, I., “Evaluating the Communication between Groups in Dispute; Equality in Contact Interventions
between Jews and Arabs in Israel,” pp. 131-146, Negotiation Journal, January 2005
Atran, S. and R. Axelrod, “Reframing Sacred Values,” pp. 221-246, Negotiation Journal, July 2008
Burg, S.L., “NGOs and Ethnic Conflict: Lessons from the Work of the Project on Ethnic Relations in the
Balkans,” pp. 7-33, Negotiation Journal, January 2007
Moore, C. and G. Brown, “Designing Dispute Resolution Systems for Settling Land and Property Disputes
in Postconflict and Postcrisis Societies,” pp. 79-104, in Zelizer, C. and R.A. Rubinstein, eds., Building
Peace: Practical Reflections from the Field; Sterling, VA: Kumarian Press; 2009
Babbitt, E.F. and P.P. Steiner, “Combining Empathy with Problem Solving: The Tamra Model of
Facilitation in Israel,” pp. 157-178; ibid.
Gutlove, P., “Health Bridges for Peace: The Medical Network for Social Reconstruction in the Former
Yugoslavia,” pp. 179-202; ibid.
Konings, M. and A. James, “Building Peace in Thin Air: The Case of Search for Common Ground’s
Talking Drum Studio in Sierra Leone,” pp. 249-265, ibid.
Levine, H., “Mediating the War of Olives and Pines: Consensus-Based Land Use Planning in a
Multicultural Setting,” pp. 29-69, Negotiation Journal, January 2005
Final writing assignment - see Blackboard for the assignment and related information; see p. 1 of the syllabus
for general instructions.
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