This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Kotzian, P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Arguing and Bargaining in International Negotiations: On the Application of the Frame-Selection Model and its Implications

Technical University of Darmstadt, Department of Political Science, D-64283 Darmstadt, Germany; peter.kotzian{at}pg.tu-darmstadt.de

The aim of this article is to make a conceptual contribution regarding the occurrence of arguing and bargaining in international negotiations and to loosening the unitary-actor assumption underlying state behavior. To explain the occurrence of arguing and bargaining, Esser (2001, 2004) used the frame-selection model developed for individual actors. Arguing and bargaining are seen as frames–fixed combinations of supreme aims, norms, behavioral routines, and symbols. Once activated, a frame largely determines an actor's behavior. Similar to the mechanism proposed by March and Olsen (1998), actors choose a frame given the symbolic information in the situation, but also given the utility associated with a frame. Formally modeling the choice of arguing and bargaining as frames, Esser (2004) treats states as unitary actors and derives several statements about the occurrence of each mode. The additional contribution of this article is the loosening of this assumption and the derivation of its implications. The frames adopted by states are conceptualized as those frames dominant among the individuals involved in any particular negotiation, be it by being members of delegations or national policy networks. There are fundamental differences between the frame of a person and the frame of a state. Further, each component of a state's frame results from a different aggregation process. Only for some frame components, like interests, an established aggregation process exists. This accounts for the differences in the occurrence and effectiveness of arguing and bargaining at the international level.

Key Words: Arguing • Bargaining • Frames • International negotiations

International Political Science Review, Vol. 28, No. 1, 79-99 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0192512107070404


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?