In a globalising world the art of negotiating becomes ever more important. Growing interdependency has made negotiating an indispensable tool in the international political arena. Complex problems in the fields of economy, trade, energy, environment, politics and security require intensive international negotiations in a multilateral setting. Conducting such negotiations is a professional art.

Therefore the Clingendael Institute offers a four days seminar on multilateral and cross-cultural negotiations with the primary objective to improve the participants insight into the negotiating process and their negotiation skills and techniques.

Programme

The programme will offer both theory and practise of multilateral negotiation in international organisations and companies. Through cases and role-plays the process of preparation, procedures and evaluation will be trained. Negotiation styles and strategies will be discussed, and attention will be paid to cross-cultural negotiation and the influence of cultural factors. Moreover, the behaviour of successful negotiators will be analysed.

Aims

The participants will improve their own negotiating skills. They will be better equipped to analyse the overall negotiation process and the different negotiation styles and strategies being used in the multilateral arena. And they will gain more insight into the influence of cultural factors and individual behaviour.

The trainer

Spring Seminar : Prof Dr Raymond Saner teaches at Basle University (Economics); Sciences Po, Paris (International Management) and at the World Trade Institute in Berne (Trade). He is Director of Diplomacy-Dialogue at the Centre for Socio-Eco-Nomic Development (CSEND) and President and Partner of Organisational Consultants Ltd. based in Geneva and Hong Kong. Professor Saner specialises in State & Non-State Actor Diplomacy and Negotiations. He has over 20 years of experience as a trainer and consultant in international negotiations with multinational companies, governments and international institutions. He has trained ambassadors, diplomats and senior civil servants in a variety of countries.

Autumn Seminar : Mr. Wilbur Perlot is negotiations trainer and -analyst at the Clingendael European Studies Programme. He is a development sociologist by training with a speciality in organisation anthropology. Working for Clingendael from 2001 to 2006, as head of political section at De Balie in Amsterdam from 2006 to 2010, and again for the Clingendael institute from 2010, mister Perlot has developed, conducted and given hundreds of (training) programmes, workshops, seminars and lectures, involving many nationalities and cultures. He has trained ambassadors, private sector, senior civil servants and diplomats, including groups of civil servants from different states in preparation of their posting to Brussels or their national EU presidency. He is also the coordinator of the international network Processes of International Negotiation (PIN).

The participants

The seminar is meant for those who are to negotiate in an international setting such as (senior) civil servants of Ministries and other administrative authorities; representatives of international corporations; military personnel in international posts; and diplomats.

Course materials

Course materials exist of a handbook and hand-outs for the exercises. The handbook, The Expert Negotiator by Raymond Saner (Brill Publishers, 2008, 3rd ed.), will be sent to the participants two weeks in advance of the course. Hand-outs will be distributed during the seminar.

Costs

The costs for the seminar are € 2.400, including tea, coffee, lunches, and farewell drinks.

Participants employed by subsidizers of the Clingendael Institute pay a reduced rate of € 2.200.