Tug of War: The Tension Concept and the Art of International Negotiation [Paperback]

In this scholarly but accessible book, the author achieves four main feats that are rare in the academic literature on negotiation and many other areas of the social sciences (including my own - business economics). First, he does not use statistics or any other weapon to kill off his flesh-and-blood informants. The book is alive with real and sometimes quirky individuals. Second, he bounces theory and practice off one another in a way that enhances the reader's grasp of their relationship. While he does respect mainstream theorists in negotiation, and gives them focused coverage, he builds on their work without tugging his forelock as he argues for analysts to pay more attention to the nuanced concept of tension that is fundamental to negotiation. Third, he does not see his own discipline or himself as a fortress. He draws on a wide range of fields to support his particular theoretical approach, which he presents as one way, not the only way, of seeing international negotiation. Fourth, his expression is never pretentious and is almost always simple and fluid. This can be a trap for the unwary reader who might expect complex ideas to be written only in complex ways. This is a smooth read but not an easy one. The author uses jargon from time to time but only if there seems to be no other way out. The writing, including the footnotes, is never superfluous and is often entertaining. For example, "Gregory was cremated with a fat reefer in his pocket."

The book is well-structured and takes the reader on a highly original journey into the world of expert players. In an unconventional and therefore risky way, the author convincingly presents and analyses two quite different cases in fine detail in order to demonstrate his theory of context, tensions and tension management. The first case is in diplomacy and the second in hostage negotiation. As a business analyst and manager with a special interest in China, I was disappointed at first that there was no detailed case in international business. However, I soon realised that business negotiation in China and elsewhere gets a lot of coverage in other ways. Several informants are business managers, and two are senior diplomats who have transferred their experience and skills to the business world.

If you are a practitioner or scholar with an interest in improving your analytical skills in international negotiation and related fields (e.g. mediation, conflict management, hostage release), read this book, stretch your brainpower and imagination, and enjoy yourself along the way. If you think analysis of paintings, photographs, music and novels has nothing to do with negotiation, think again.

This book is a very insightful and often entertaining read. As a student of negotiation, this book provided me with an opportunity to step outside the square of traditional negotiation literature, and explore a new and original perspective that can be applied by analysts and practitioners. The book is at times challenging to read due to its unusual approach, even though it reads smoothly and is difficult to put down: you can feel your IQ increase with every turn of the page. Having once met the author, the style of the book feels like he is simply talking to you in his knowledgeable but engaging way.

Whilst respectfully covering the work of mainstream negotiation academics, the author brings to light, through the book's two main case studies, his important theory of tensions as the major underlying phenomena in negotiation. Other literary works rarely touch on the concept of tensions in any depth, but this book explores the nature of the tension as a fundamental way of organising and managing our world, across time, place and culture. I particularly enjoyed the chapter covering the two case studies, and the way the author examines these cases in finer detail, convincingly applying and demonstrating his theory of tensions and their management.

This book is really good value for money compared to other texts I have read. I highly recommend this book to any student or veteran, or anywhere in between, wanting to gain a broader and deeper perspective on negotiation.

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