The Vienna negotiations on the final status for Kosovo

The Vienna negotiations on the final status for Kosovo were an impossible project. It was clear at the outset that both parties would not be able to find common ground on the status issue. However, the talks focused on the practical issues of governance in Kosovo, such as decentralization, community rights and cultural heritage. It was thought that these could be addressed, initially at least, in a status‐neutral way. While the parties did not manage to agree on all or most of these problems, the UN Special Envoy, Martti Ahtisaari, generated a comprehensive proposal offering compromise solutions that should have been acceptable to both sides. The recommendation of the Special Envoy in favour of supervised independence was deliberately separated from the comprehensive proposal. It was thought that the UN Security Council would at least endorse the proposal, even if it was ultimately unwilling to pronounce itself in favour of independence. The issue of status might then be settled outside the Council. However, when it appeared to some states on the Council that endorsement of the substantive Ahtisaari plan would in fact be tantamount to acceptance of independence, this avenue was closed.     

Israel–Syria: The Elusive Peace*

For 20 years, as of 1991, multiple rounds of negotiations took place between Syria and Israel. These negotiations revolved around the entire gamut of problems separating the two countries: borders, recognition, finality of the conflict, normalization, security arrangements, the Israeli civilian population in the disputed territory, water, Lebanon, the Palestinian issue, Iran, and terrorism. Israeli Prime Ministers, Syrian presidents, foreign ministers, and senior generals from both sides participated in the talks, and third parties such as the United States and Turkey were also involved. Yet peace was not achieved, although not for a lack of effort. This article tries to shed light on some of the reasons for this continuing failure.     

‘We Have Been Making History’: The League of Nations and the Leticia Dispute (1932–1934)

This article sheds a historical light on the League of Nations’ role in the settlement of the Leticia dispute between Peru and Colombia (1932–1934). It first describes how the Geneva organization conducted the negotiations with the two opposing parties and reached an agreement for the establishment of a temporary territorial administration of Leticia. Then, it examines the work of the International Commission, scrutinizing the challenges the Commissioners had to overcome to fulfil their mandate. Based on the League of Nations’ archives, this research contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the settlement of the Leticia dispute. It also shows the innovative character of the Geneva organization's intervention to maintain international peace.     

地理认知与边界划定:清末滇缅边界变迁研究

清末滇缅划界谈判是近代中缅边界变迁和发展的一个重要阶段。本文借助外交档案和条约舆图等资料,对中英谈判涉及的滇缅边界划定和变迁过程作细致复原。光绪年间《中英续议滇缅界务商务条约》和《中缅条约附款及专条》的签订基本划定了滇缅中段的边界线。中英对“分水岭”地理认知上的矛盾,对尖高山以北段未定界的交涉产生重要影响,结果使中国事实上丧失了对尖高山以北、扒拉大山—高良共山以西小江流域的领土主权。在南段未定界,双方对边界会勘依据有诸多分歧,难以取得共识。清末中英关于滇缅边界问题的谈判结果,基本塑造了当今中缅边界的走向,对其后民国时期与20世纪60年代中缅两国的边界谈判和最终划定产生了重要影响。     

British Imperialism and the Political Economy of Malayan Independence

The article focuses on Britain’s relationship with Malaya shortly before and after its independence from the British Empire. The article looks at the negotiations concerning the financial settlement prior to independence. Britain sought to keep Malaya within the sterling area at all costs, even after de jure convertibility had been achieved, due to its high dollar earning capacity, which remained important due to persistent trade deficits with the US from the end of the Second World War. The article argues that this settlement, while seemingly very generous for an independent Malaya, was still very much intended to maintain Britain’s role within the global economy, to ensure sterling’s status as an international currency and to support conditions for British economic growth.     

Justified at Last? Kissinger's Cyprus Legacy, 1974–1976

This article focuses on the Cyprus talks between 1974 and 1976. It presents the beneficial role the former US secretary of state, Henry A. Kissinger, played in bringing the Greek and Turkish sides around the negotiating table and commit to the efforts for a mutually acceptable settlement following the 1974 Cyprus crisis. Kissinger acted as the honest broker between Ankara, Athens and Nicosia moderating each side's demands and communicating their respective positions when direct contacts were insufficient. All parties for different reasons welcomed his involvement and considered his presence a necessity necessary. Since the public in Greece and Cyprus remained hostile to him, the US secretary remained on the side-lines. Kissinger offered innovative solutions on controversial questions that prevented progress. Thanks to his contribution intense negotiations between the two Cypriot communities with the support of Greece and Turkey took place during the Ford administration. His intervention could not and did not suffice to overcome domestic conflicts and political considerations that prevailed over the efforts for a reconciliatory and mutually acceptable agreement. Nonetheless, he succeeded in paving the way for reducing tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean.     

The State, Redundancy Pay, and Economic Policy-Making in the Early 1960s

The setting up of the National Economic Development Council(NEDC) and other reforms to the institutions of economic policy-makingin the early 1960s are regarded by commentators as the firstconcerted attempt by government to confront the issue of Britain'srelative economic decline. The general assessment of these reformsis that they failed, largely due to the ‘possessive individualist’culture of British peak organizations. This article investigatesthese issues from the perspective of negotiations on financialprovision for the unemployed—one of the first issues tobe considered by the NEDC. It shows that in this area the mainproblem was the nature of the Whitehall policy-making processand the failure of government to co-ordinate its policy position.This caused both sides of industry to question government commitmentto the tripartite process and seriously undermined the entireNEDC project at an early stage. These findings are consistentwith recent theoretical analyses of British government whichemphasize the complexity of the policy process and co-ordinationproblems within Whitehall.     

Implementing the truce: negotiations between the Republic and the archducal Netherlands, 1609–10

Generally, the truce treaty that was signed in Antwerp by the archdukes and the Republic on 9 April 1609 is seen as the definitive agreement that led to an armistice of 12 years between the two belligerent parties. Yet it was only one step in a series of negotiations and conferences that lasted from the spring of 1607 to the spring of 1612, since for a number of issues the stipulations of the truce were merely agreements in principle, the terms of which had to be finalised later on. The focus of this article is on the manner in which both parties wanted to see some of the articles actualised or clarified, on the strategies used by both parties in order to obtain what they wanted, and on the final outcome of these talks.     

A Faithful Interpreter? Li Zibiao and the 1793 Macartney Embassy to China

Abstract

This paper is about the interpreter of the first British embassy to China. Li Zibiao was a Chinese Catholic priest who Lord Macartney recruited in Europe and brought with him to China. This account of his participation in the embassy aims to help us understand the role of the interpreter in intercultural negotiations in the late 18th century. Interpreting is something we tend to think of as invisible, but in these negotiations, where only a single interpreter was present, the interpreter had significant power. In effect, he acted as a mediator, shuttling between the two parties to enable each to accept the positions of the other so that the negotiations could come to a more or less successful conclusion. This position of power meant that the interpreter’s own institutional and personal interests could also be important to the negotiations. Thus loyalty was crucial to how interpreting worked. Li’s achievement during the negotiations was to create a situation where both Lord Macartney and the Qing officials were willing to accept him as a mediator and where he survived to tell the tale.     

对2005年海峡两岸政党交往的回顾与思考

中华民族的血缘历史脐带,两岸对和平的共同诉求,使得2005年两岸政党交往有了现实可能。从国民党、亲民党、新党三党角度而言,两岸政党交往具有缅怀先烈、寻根祭祖、政党之间的政治和解、推动两岸的经贸合作等诉求和特点。两岸政党交往影响深远:增进了彼此的了解与理解,为发展两岸关系奠定了现实基础;建立了政党定期沟通平台,为两岸关系发展提供了新枢纽;促进了两岸的经贸合作,为发展两岸关系添加了润滑剂。     

1962年《日英通商航海条约》谈判析论

1955年9月,日本正式加入关税与贸易总协定。以英国为首的14国对日援引关贸总协定第35条,拒绝给予日本最惠国待遇。为同英国签署通商航海条约,获得最惠国待遇,日本与英国展开了长期艰苦的谈判。谈判迁延日久,英国缺乏尽快缔约的动力,日本则缺乏推动缔约的筹码。1950年代末日本政府推动贸易自由化的决定直接推动了谈判进程。为与英国达成协议,换取英国最惠国待遇及其撤销对日援引第35条的承诺,日本不得不在保护条款与敏感清单这两大问题上做出让步。1962年《日英通商航海条约》构建了日英经贸关系的稳定框架,扫清了战后日英关系发展道路上的最大障碍,日英关系进入一个新阶段。该条约提升了日本的国际地位,但却是在日本做出重大让步的前提下缔结的,日本经济外交在收获了重大胜利的同时,也显露了自身的局限。     

Nuclear Iran is Not an Option: A new negotiating strategy to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons

The negotiations between Iran and the P5+1¹ over Tehran's nuclear enrichment activities have not only failed to reach an agreement but have brought Iran much closer to the threshold of mastering the technology to produce nuclear weapons. There are many factors that precipitated this breakdown, including the West's inability to understand and deal with the Iranian psychological disposition, the failure to present to Iran the severity of the punitive measures that could be inflicted as a consequence of their defiance, and the US administration's misleading policy that gave Iran the room to maneuver. There is an urgent need to adopt a distinctively new strategy toward Iran consisting of three tracks of separate but interconnected negotiations: The first should focus on the current negotiations on Iran's enrichment program and the economic incentive package; the second should concentrate on regional security and the consequences of continued Iranian defiance; and the third track should address Iran's and the United States' grievances against each other. The United States must initiate all three tracks without which future talks will be as elusive as the previous negotiations, except this time the West and Israel will be facing the unsettling prospect of a nuclear Iran.     

中尼边界谈判的历史进程和基本经验

中尼边界是继中缅边界后通过外交谈判正式划定、勘定的第二条明晰的陆地边界线。通过谈判,中尼边界正式划定、勘定,包括双方争议较大的珠穆朗玛峰的归属问题,也以中方大体平分、边界线划在蜂顶的建议方案为基础达成基本共识。中尼边界谈判与中缅边界谈判的成功,为新中国有计划、有步骤地以和平共处五项原则为基础,通过外交谈判、互谅互让和友好协商,全面彻底地和平解决与陆地邻国的边界问题提供了成功范例。     

Kosovo's final status

The Ahtisaari comprehensive proposal for a settlement of the status of Kosovo met with deadlock in the UN Security Council. It would neither be endorsed nor imposed upon the parties. In view of that position, a new round of negotiations, conducted by the EU, Russia and the US, was launched over a period of 120 days. During these discussions, Serbia's President Boris Tadic revealed a significant measure of flexibility when putting forwards options for wide‐ranging self‐government for Kosovo. However, these forward‐looking positions were undermined by a less advanced proposal emanating from other parts of the Belgrade government, including the Prime Minister. Moreover, the Serbian parliament sought to preempt developments by unilaterally adopting its own constitutional amendments relating to Kosovo, further undermining the credibility of Serbia's position at the international level. However, it could be argued that had Belgrade been willing to begin the previous round of negotiations let by Martti Ahtisaari with the advanced offers it was putting at the very end of the process, a different outcome might have resulted. Such action might have put pressure on western governments to impose an advanced autonomy settlement on Kosovo, rather than putting Belgrade under pressure to accept the Ahtisaari plan. In the end, Kosovo's independence was unilateral in two senses. On the one hand, Kosovo declared independence without the benefit of agreement from Belgrade or cover from the UN Security Council. On the other hand, Kosovo unilaterally accepted the provisions emanating from the Ahtisaari talks. These concessions had been made in the expectation that agreed independence would be forthcoming in return. Belgrade was therefore able to oppose independence and work against its consolidation, while profiting from Kosovo's agreement to the plan it had rejected.     

Australia’s trade diplomacy and the Trans-Pacific Partnership: ‘you’ve got to row your own boat’

ABSTRACT

As part of its economic diplomacy, Australia has directed intense effort into both bilateral and plurilateral trade negotiations such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership. According to then Minister for Trade and Investment Andrew Robb, with no major multilateral trade deal in decades, you have to ‘row your own boat’ or risk missing out. With the fundamentals of trade and the nature of trade negotiations changing, trade liberalisation has become an increasingly sophisticated and difficult negotiating area. A case study of the controversial TPP shows the tensions for a middle power navigating this space. The benefits of the TPP are contested and the government faces criticism of the adverse impacts of the agreement, especially investor-state dispute settlement clauses, impact on human rights and suspicion that the TPP is motivated by geopolitical drivers. In order not to lose more than it gains in moving away from the multilateral trade system, Australia must ensure that trade agreements are consistent with WTO rules and have open and fair accession regimes as a basis for signing. Finally, there is the need for higher levels of transparency and democratic accountability than has historically applied. A new white paper is necessary to make the case for trade liberalisation.     

Calling the bluff of the Western powers in the United Nations disarmament negotiations, 1954–55

This article, based on British and American archival sources, examines the response of the Western powers (mainly the US and the UK) to the Soviet disarmament initiatives in 1954–55. We shed some light on the Western states' attitude to the UN disarmament negotiations of this period, arguing that the two sides never actually came close to a settlement, since at least the Western side was hesitant to commit to any actual measures of disarmament. This article challenges part of the Cold War historiography that has incorrectly portrayed this particular period as the most opportune time for achieving disarmament.     

Spatial and temporal dynamics of linkage strategies in Arab-Israeli water negotiations

Water issues are inherently multi-faceted and therefore water policy often involves linkages to other issues. By providing opportunities for bargaining, use of policy linkages in transboundary water negotiations can increase the possibilities of reaching agreements; however, they also involve potential political costs. While there is ample theoretical literature on the potential benefits and risks of linkages in transboundary water negotiations, there is little empirical work exploring if, how, and why linkages are implemented in practice, especially in areas of conflict, in which they have perhaps the largest potential impact. This study evaluates the rationales behind decisions to adopt or refrain from linkage strategies by examining their actual use in Arab-Israeli water negotiations. The study finds that the likelihood, scale, and scope of linkages change over time, and they depend on factors such as the political climate, the level of trust between the parties, the degree of power asymmetry between parties, and political affiliation. Other variables such as size of negotiating parties were weakly correlated with likelihood of linkages. Knowing the opportunities and limits afforded by such linkages is crucial for negotiators and policymakers who are often drawn to linkage strategies without considering their inherent risks.     

全面抗战前中日国交调整的力度与限度——以成都事件为视点的考察

1936年下半年发生在中日国交调整期间的成都事件,虽然在一定程度上影响了中日关系,但也为重启交涉创造了契机。交涉过程中,日本企图借成都事件一揽子解决以往的各项悬案,从而导致外交谈判的重点出现偏移,谈判的目标由解决具体事件转为全面调整国交。由于双方分歧过大,交涉难以进行,最终谈判被迫退回到“就事论事”的层面,有限度地解决了成都事件。“蓉案”引发的中日交涉,表明了全面抗战爆发前中日两国调整关系的意愿,但由于双方存在明显分歧,国交调整所取得的成果有限。     

Performing postcolonial identities at the United Nations’ climate negotiations

This study aims to understand how postcolonial identities were performed in the negotiations that led to the new climate agreement signed in Paris in December 2015. Based on interviews, the analysis of documents and participant observation of the negotiations it was possible to identify the legal, economic and scientific discourses mobilised by both global North and South countries. In all three discourses, it was possible to identify a systematic effort of the Northern parties to unmake the identity of Southern parties as ‘developing countries’ as a way to erase the ontological difference between emerging and established industrialised economies. At the same time, in the context of the convention Southern parties reaffirmed their identities as ‘developing countries’ and demanded from the North a strong commitment to tackle climate change and the transfer of more financial resources to the South. In this process, it was also possible to identify an inversion of the position usually taken by mainstream and critical postcolonial scholars that see the deconstruction of categories such as ‘developing countries’ as key for the emancipation of the global South. Finally, this invites postocolonial scholars to look more closely at how postcolonial identities are being instrumentalised, discursively and politically.     

Metapopulation Processes in the Long-Term Colonization of the Andean Highlands in South America

This paper analyses the importance of the South Central Andean High Puna megapatch, above 4000 masl, in the history of late Pleistocene exploration and colonization of the Atacama Desert, including the contrasting habitats that exist towards the hyperarid Pacific Ocean coast or the ecosystems bordering the tropical forests, on the western and eastern sides of the Andes, respectively. These ecosystems, which were firmly established by the end of the Pleistocene, are examined as key factors in the history of human peopling. The social, demographic and climate conditions associated with the peopling processes are discussed in relation to the appropriate technological, subsistence and settlement strategies developed by pioneer populations, who for their initial settlement selected highly productive patches where water and fauna converged. Based on concepts derived from metapopulation theory, all relevant archaeological paleoecological data from both sides of the Andean Cordillera are presented and discussed. It is concluded that the pioneer occupation of the high Puna megapatch was a gradual process, related to an emergent Andean human mobility system that connected a wide range of altitudinally staggered habitats. Moreover, we suggest that divergent cultural trajectories evolved since the early Holocene, affecting highland, lowland and coastal habitats.