State Strategies in International Bargaining
Play by the Rules or Change Them?

This book demonstrates why states' behavior varies so widely across different international negotiations, analyzing multiple real-world cases in the process.

Heather Elko McKibben (Author)

9781107086098, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 26 January 2015

346 pages, 5 b/w illus. 10 tables
23.1 x 15.5 x 2.8 cm, 0.59 kg

'McKibben offers the most systematic rationalist treatment of bargaining strategies in international relations seen so far. Beautifully and parsimoniously argued, and applied to no fewer than four different issue areas, it is a model for research on international negotiation.' Brian Rathbun, University of Southern California

Bargaining between states in the international system is governed by rules which shape and constrain their bargaining behavior. However, these rules can be changed. When, why, and how do states bargain differently? Drawing on original qualitative and quantitative evidence, this book demonstrates how the rules of the game influence the cooperative or coercive nature of the strategies adopted by all states in a negotiation. These effects influence each state's incentives regarding whether to play by the rules or to change them. Examining these incentives, as well as the conditions under which states can act on them, McKibben explains the wide variation in states' bargaining strategies. Several bargaining interactions are analyzed, including decision-making in the European Union, multilateral trade negotiations, climate change negotiations, and negotiations over the future status of Kosovo. This book provides a rich understanding of the nuances of states' behavior in international bargaining processes.

1. Introduction: it's a question of strategies
Part I. Rule-Compliant/Rule-Changing Framework: 2. Typology of bargaining strategies
3. How states play by the rules
4. When and why states change the rules
Part II. Research Design and Empirical Tests: 5. Playing by the rules in European Union negotiations
6. Playing by the rules in GATT/WTO negotiations
7. Changing the rules in climate change negotiations
8. Changing the rules in the Kosovo status process
9. Bargaining strategies, and beyond.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], Regional government [JPR], Political structure & processes [JPH], Political ideologies [JPF], Comparative politics [JPB], Political science & theory [JPA], Politics & government [JP]