From its first birthday on, the blog’s articles will also be released in English for international readers at Negotiation-blog.eu Berlin, 22 January 2018: For a year now, Verhandlung.blog-author Thorsten Hofmann analyses and comments on current political and economic negotiations. For its first anniversary, the project becomes international: from now on, all articles will additionally be published in English at Negotiation-blog.eu.
Confidentiality of German grand coalition negotiations. Thorsten Hofmann in the Handelsblatt.
No twitter, no balcony, no media. Nothing of the grand coalition talks between CDU, CSU and SPD was supposed to be leaked to the public. Yet the agreed confidentiality did not last for long. Thorsten Hofmann is not surprised at all. In his interview with Handelsblatt, the negotiation expert explains, why the toughest opponent is always oneself. Read the full article here (in German).
Media appearances ahead of failed Jamaica-coalition talks
Ahead of the failed coalition talks between CDU/CSU, FDP and Bündnis 90/Die Grünen, Thorsten Hofmann analyzed the complex situation in several media appearances. The negotiation expert shed light on team constellations, strategies and the persons involved’s attribution of roles.
Too many cooks spoil the broth. Negotiating the Jamaica-coalition
The 24th October is probably a day which is highlighted in a deep red in many calendars of political stakeholders in Berlin. At 11:00 o’clock, Wolfgang Schäuble – designated new presiding officer of the German parliament – is scheduled to open the inaugural meeting for the upcoming 19th legislative period. At least that’s currently the plan. Whether the actual coalition negotiations will have proceeded accordingly or will have started at all by that time remains to be seen.
Germany’s Game Theorists Puzzle over Pyongyang. Thorsten Hofmann in the Handelsblatt Global Edition.
North Korea and the USA rattle their saber, while the Brexit negotiations have reached an impasse. Is Donald Trump a person who loses control of his own emotions and does the EU have supremacy in the Brexit negotiations? Together with colleagues from Stanford and Berlin Universities, negotiation expert Thorsten Hofmann analyses both tactics from the perspective of game theory. Read the full article here. Learn more about the practical application of game theory, especially the theory on brinkmanship in negotiations, as well as other negotiation tactics in one of the Center for Negotiation’ negotiation seminars
Brinkmanship squared
As part of the political confrontation with North Korea, US President Donald Trump and the regime of Kim Jong-un use a well-known rhetoric, recalling the autumn of 1962 – the time of the Cuban Missile Crisis. Trump revives the Brinkmanship Theory and the consequences are difficult to predict. This inevitably evokes risks.
You can learn to negotiate – claim and reality in politics
A good politician is a good negotiator – at least you could assume that. After all, negotiating is the daily bread of a politician – especially if s/he operates on relevant interfaces. Legislative decisions, foreign policy aspects, internal security, social benefits or economic support – the list may be continued arbitrarily, whether in dialogue with company representatives, fellow party members, government partners, committee members, EU members or decision-makers in the local constituency. A good outcome of a negotiation can be crucial for a member of parliament and decide whether s/he will be re-elected.