The collaborative, or integrative, approach

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This strategy has the objective of leaving no obvious "losers" and satisfying all the parties and can be summarized by the expression Тwin-win situationУ. Achieving this objective often looks unlikely in the context of multilateral trade negotiations, with a concept of "winners" and "losers" that can vary a lot over time (short-terms gains vs. long-term benefits). Real strategies applied in concrete negotiations rarely use a purely collaborative approach; instead, they rather apply a combination of several model strategies. However, it is important to study the principles and tools of the main model strategies to understand how and when they could be used in the context of a mixed strategy.

The most important criterion for a collaborative strategy is the existence of several issues that can be negotiated together and that thus offer opportunities for trade-offs. Creativity is a precious skill in this context: a collaborative approach includes a Тrelatively open exploration of common problems; proposals for a formula that would create value for many parties; proposals for exchanges of concessions that might benefit more than one party; reframing of the issues themselves in ways that ease impasses and create joint gainsУ[4].

A collaborative approach implies exchanges of information between the parties on their respective interests. These exchanges minimize the risk of misunderstandings and wrong interpretations, and are a starting point for the identification of potential trade-offs. The potential results of a negotiation need to be better, or at least equal to each party's pre-established bottom line[5].

ТValueУ becomes ТcreatedУ when the various actors of a negotiation attribute different degrees of importance to the issues put on the table during the negotiation. One exchanges a feature he (or she) is less interested in for something that is more attractive for him (or her). The other parties in the negotiation might value the features in the precisely opposite way. After the exchange has been done, each of the parties that took part in the exchange has enhanced the value of what it possesses; in other words, new ТvalueУ has been created.

Negotiating on several issues means that the optimal solution can be chosen from a great variety of alternatives. The less negotiating items there are to be split up between the parties, the less value creation and therefore the higher the risk of breaking off the negotiation.

Some techniques can be useful in the context of a collaborative strategy:

• Exploring jointly and frankly the problematic issues;
• Separating problem-solving and decision-making: working around various alternatives can be sought in parallel with the conduct of negotiations;
• Linking concessions: all the combinations can be explored to achieve the one that is the most advantageous for all the players, including defining a general formula (i.e. a tariff cutting formula) that would create value for many parties;
• Having facilitators, mediators, conciliators and arbitrators: a third party is often crucial to bringing the dead-locked talks back on track. But his (or her) mandate must be carefully defined beforehand, and this third party must be seen as impartial as possible, with no direct interest of its own at stake in the dispute or the negotiation[6] ("good offices" process);
• Circulating a draft agreement text (put forward by the third party of by the negotiating parties themselves) with contributions from all sides gradually incorporated in a form of a mutually acceptable solution;
• Leaving creative grey areas: it gives time to find new creative solutions and its ambiguity facilitates a common agreement. These new creative solutions can also be found using reframing techniques[7].

This is the theoretical approach of a collaborative negotiation, whose application to concrete multilateral negotiations remains problematic. The imbalances in the levels of development and size of economies within the group of developed and developing countries make it difficult or even unrealistic for individual members to adopt a fully collaborative approach. The size and structure of the economy, as well as economic and political differences, sometimes result in negotiation positions which are at variance with other members of the group. Thus, developed and developing country members often pursue a mixed strategy composed of collaborative or competitive features.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20