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April 01 1998

Getting to the Table in Oslo: Driving Forces and Channel Factors

Michael Watkins,

Michael Watkins

Michael Watkins is associate professor of management at the Harvard Business School, 139 Morgan Hall, Soldiers Field, Boston, Mass. 02163.

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Kirsten Lundberg

Kirsten Lundberg

Kirsten Lundberg is senior case writer at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, 150 Taubman, 79 JFK St. Cambridge, Mass. 02138.

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Author and Article Information

Michael Watkins

Michael Watkins is associate professor of management at the Harvard Business School, 139 Morgan Hall, Soldiers Field, Boston, Mass. 02163.

Kirsten Lundberg

Kirsten Lundberg is senior case writer at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government, 150 Taubman, 79 JFK St. Cambridge, Mass. 02138.

First Publication: July 02 2007

Online ISSN: 1571-9979

Print ISSN: 0748-4526

© 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation

1998

Plenum Publishing Corporation

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For a full description of the license, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Negotiation Journal (1998) 14 (2): 115–135.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1571-9979.1998.tb00153.x

Abstract

Using the secret Middle East peace talks in Oslo, Norway as a case example, the authors develop a conceptual framework for analyzing prenegotiation processes in negotiation. The framework focuses on understanding changes in the balance of geopolitical, internal, political, and group psychological forces that lead parties to negotiate. The framework also highlights the importance of “channel factors,” such as the use of unofficial representatives, small‐state sponsorship, co‐mediation, secret diplomacy, and staged agreements. Although developed with reference to the Oslo peace process, the authors believe this framework has broader applicability to the analysis of prenegotiation processes in international and ethnic disputes and other situations of protracted conflict. They conclude with a series of questions for future prenegotiation research.

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© 1998 Plenum Publishing Corporation

1998

Plenum Publishing Corporation

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For a full description of the license, please visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.