Do You Really Know What Negotiations Mean?

 In my working career I was heavily involved in negotiations with a range of Trade Unions covering salaries, terms of employment, social matters etc.

As is common in Western culture, entering into negotiations means a strategic discussion between two parties to resolve an issue in a way that both find acceptable. Negotiations can take place between buyers and sellers, employers and employees. This implies that both sides are aware that there has to be give and take on both sides.

According to Dr Harold Rhode, an acknowledged expert in Arab culture, this definition is not applicable in the Middle East. He writes “Periodically, the United States or Israel makes a concession to an adversary, planning—or hoping—for reciprocity. The underlying assumption is that, as the stronger party, they can afford to be generous and even, on occasion, to miscalculate. This is a fundamental misreading, not of the strength of the American or Israeli position, but of how the Muslim world will understand the concession. In the Muslim world, only weak people make concessions. An offer to compromise is a sign of weakness, encouraging those receiving one, not only not to reciprocate, but to increase the pressure against their adversaries. The frameworks are different.”

 

Simply put, in the Arab world, if you haven’t won the battle, any concessions are a sign of weakness. For this reason, we have seen the Iranians running rings around the various American negotiators who have stuck to a strategy that is totally inappropriate. The result has been that Iran has continued advancing its ambitions in the nuclear field.

 

With the American weakness in the eyes of the Arab states, they are losing trust in the US and already considering alternatives, even discussions with Iran.. These same Arab states want Israel to win because failure to do so can ultimately affect the stability of some of these countries, for example Jordan and Lebanon, either of which could be catastrophic for Israel .

 

In conclusion, Rhode writes “Sadly, we don’t understand how people in that part of the world think. And more importantly, we seem almost never interested in learning. And in this case, our policy is based on a misunderstanding of how Iran sees itself.

(Shi’ite) Iran doesn’t want a “balanced” policy with its neighbors, or with the US. It is pursuing a policy aimed at defeating and humiliating its Sunni Arab neighbors. And America is helping it do so.”