Negotiation Journal is pleased to include these announcements of recently published books of interest. A listing in this section does not constitute an evaluation of the book's merit nor does it exclude a book from consideration as the subject of a review in Negotiation Journal at some later date. Suggestions of books for inclusion in this section should be sent to [email protected].
Morton Deutsch, Peter T. Coleman, and Eric C. Marcus (eds.). The Handbook of Conflict Resolution: Theory and Practice, 2nd edn. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass, 2006. 960 pages. $75.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 0787980587.
Aimed at both negotiation professionals and students in the field, this comprehensive book draws on a wide range of contributors to delve into the underlying theories and social psychological processes of conflict resolution, from the interpersonal to the international. Divided into eight parts that range in topic from “Interpsychic Processes” to “Creativity and Change,” the book covers areas such as developing and repairing trust, resolving intractable conflict, and working with conflict in the context of culture. In this new edition, the editors have added chapters that explore how issues of emotion, gender, and language affect conflict resolution.
Editor Morton Deutsch, a lifetime achievement award winner for his work on conflict management and applications of psychology to social issues (among other areas), is the E. L. Thorndike Professor and director emeritus of the International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution at Teachers College, Columbia University. Coeditors Peter T. Coleman and Eric C. Marcus are, respectively, associate professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University, and principal of the Marcus Group, which specializes in building individual and organizational conflict‐resolution skills.
Jon C. Jenkins and Maureen R. Jenkins. The 9 Disciplines of a Facilitator: Leading Groups by Transforming Yourself. San Francisco: Jossey‐Bass, 2006. 320 pages. $40.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 0787980684.
How do the best facilitators engage the people with whom they work? What inner resources do they draw on to effect a critical shift in delicate situations? The 9 Disciplines of a Facilitator explores these topics and more to look at what it really takes to lead any kind of group.
Written by two long‐term members of the International Association of Facilitators and cofounders of Imaginal Training in the Netherlands, the book comprises two parts. Part one looks at the context of facilitation, exploring such issues as leadership and employee participation. Part two devotes a chapter to each of the nine disciplines: detachment, engagement, focus, interior council, intentionality, a sense of wonder, awareness, action, and presence. One reviewer said: “A needed and timely push to facilitators in every part of the profession to acknowledge the deeper realities of what we do. Facilitation is not just techniques but also assisting individuals and groups to use the deeper resources that they have within them to respond more effectively in day‐to‐day situations.”
Harriet Martin. Kings of Peace, Pawns of War: The Untold Story of Peacemaking. New York: Continuum Books, 2006. 224 pages. $29.95 (hardcover), ISBN: 0826490573.
What really goes on behind the closed doors of international peace negotiations? Former war correspondent Harriet Martin, now a U.N. speech writer and political analyst, asks this basic question of six top conflict mediators, revealing how the process of brokering deals unfolds from beginning to end.
The book features insights from such behind‐the‐scenes peacemakers as Britain's Martin Griffiths, who brokered the first peace deal amid the tumult in the Aceh province of Indonesia; Lakhdar Brahimi, the former Algerian Foreign Minister, who worked in Afghanistan to secure peace before moving on to help the U.S. government appoint a government in Iraq; Kenyan General Lazaro Sumbeiywo, who managed to negotiate a peace between the long‐warring factions in South Sudan; Alvaro de Soto, the Peruvian diplomat who worked for half a decade on the Cyprus conflict — only to see his peacemaking efforts fall apart in the final phase; and the Norwegians Erik Solheim and Vidar Helgesen, who mediated the Sri Lankan peace process that continues today.
In the process of telling these stories, Martin teases out vital lessons from the negotiators’ victories and losses, crafting a book that “will change the way we see the role of foreigners in conflict,” according to one reviewer. “The lessons she draws — if heeded — could dramatically improve the peace makers’ odds.”
John S. Odell (ed.). Negotiating Trade: Developing Countries in the WTO and NAFTA. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 310 pages. $34.99 (paperback), ISBN: 0521679788.
With developing countries now wielding more influence in World Trade Organization (WTO) talks and in regional discussions such as those that led to the North American Free Trade Agreement, researchers have begun to look more closely at those countries’ roles in the negotiation process — and on how their leaders might better succeed at the bargaining table.
In this collection of articles edited by trade policy analyst John S. Odell, a professor at the University of Southern California, experts share strategies used in specific talks in the developing world, insights on coalition formation, and methods for influencing the long‐held beliefs of other participants in any negotiation.
Detailed case studies enrich this collection, which Odell divides into three parts: multilateral negotiations, regional negotiations, and WTO dispute settlement negotiations. The book is designed to interest readers ranging from law and economics professors to policymakers and leaders of nongovernmental organizations and to provide leaders of developing countries with a particularly comprehensive resource for the often arcane bargaining tools long used by their richer neighbors. Contributors include John S. Odell, J. P. Singh, Susan K. Sell, Amrita Narlikar, Cédric Dupont, Cosimo Beverelli, Stéphanie Pézard, Antonio Ortiz Mena L. N., Christina L. Davis, and James McCall Smith.
John G. Oetzel and Stella Ting‐Toomey (eds.). The Sage Handbook of Conflict Communication: Integrating Theory, Research, and Practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006. 808 pages. $125.00 (hardcover), ISBN: 0761930450.
Intended for students of mediation and conflict management, this handbook offers a primer on the important research, fundamental theories, and practices of conflict communication. With an emphasis on the way in which culture shapes how we view and talk about conflict, the editors and a collection of experts in the field explore a variety of contexts in offering their insights. The book also includes a comprehensive survey of the literature in conflict management and resolution. Editor John G. Oetzel is associate professor and chair in the department of communication and journalism at the University of New Mexico and Stella Ting‐Toomey is professor of human communication studies at California State University, Fullerton.
Andrea Kupfer Schneider and Christopher Honeyman (eds.). The Negotiator's Fieldbook: The Desk Reference for the Experienced Negotiator. Chicago: ABA Publishing, 2006. 800 pages. $79.95 (paperback), ISBN: 1590315456.
With an underlying premise that, in a global economy, “everybody negotiates,” this book brings together more than eighty contributions from scholars and experts, offering a multidisciplinary compilation of ideas and current research on negotiation and mediation. Aimed at practitioners as well as teachers and students, this comprehensive reference book and hands‐on guide includes perspectives from authors in fields as diverse as law, economics, psychology, and cultural studies.
The editors parse the book into five parts, including a section that covers myriad views about why and how negotiations become stuck, a section that examines various ways to look at the players involved in negotiations, and a section that provides a primer on negotiation tactics and methods. The result is what one reviewer calls a “provocative, thoroughly engrossing cornucopia of negotiation theories, practical experiences, empirical findings, and insightful observations.”
Editor Andrea Kupfer Schneider is a professor of law at Marquette University Law School and has published extensively on negotiation and international law. Editor Christopher Honeyman has authored and coauthored more than fifty articles and chapters, and is a consultant, mediator, and arbitrator who manages interdisciplinary teams addressing conflict management problems.
Lawrence E. Susskind and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank. Breaking Robert's Rules: The New Way to Run Your Meeting, Build Consensus, and Get Results. New York: Oxford University Press, 2006. 240 pages. $15.95 (paperback), ISBN: 0195308360.
For more than 150 years, meetings all across the U.S. have been run according to Robert's Rules of Order, procedures established by an officer in the U.S. Army's Corps of Engineers named Robert. But, maintain authors Lawrence Susskind and Jeffrey Cruikshank, Robert's arcane parliamentary rituals lead not to order but to acrimony and shouting. The end result is often victory for a slim majority and hard feelings for everyone else.
In Breaking Robert's Rules, Susskind and Cruikshank describe how all sorts of groups — from community groups to governmental bodies, social clubs to religious organizations — can break the grip of Robert's Rules by implementing five key consensus‐building strategies designed to leave all members more satisfied with the process. The authors examine particular problems that often prevent a group's progress, and their “Handy Guide” appendix can be distributed at meetings. Appendices also include a case study that shows the application of their ideas in a corporate context.
Lawrence Susskind is a professor of planning at MIT and founder of the Consensus Building Institute. Jeffrey Cruikshank is a prolific author of business books as well as an editor and novelist.
Jonas Tallberg. Leadership and Negotiation in the European Union. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 298 pages. $29.99 (paperback), ISBN: 0521683033.
Written for scholars of international relations, politics, and European studies, Jonas Tallberg's book offers a thorough study of European Union (EU) negotiations, addressing in particular the role that the EU president plays in international negotiation — and the influence he or she wields. Citing specific case studies, Tallberg argues that, while the rotating EU president performs a critical service, he or she also enjoys a privileged position from which to shape negotiations and favor his or her nation's interests.
Tallberg, a research fellow at Lund University and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs in Stockholm, extends the scope of his theory to international negotiations regarding the environment, trade, and security, and calls into question the widespread phenomenon of “the power of the chair” in world politics. One reviewer calls the book a “must read for all who want to use rational choice institutionalism and general bargaining theory. Jonas Tallberg succeeds admirably in showing why chairmanship in international negotiation arises and what difference it makes for bargaining outcomes.”
