Negotiation and Democracy

Dear Sisters and Friends,

Collaborative negotiation and democracy share the same fundamental principle -- that people need to participate in the decisions that affect them. The idea is that this results in sounder agreements, more satisfaction, well-being, peace. People are committed to the outcomes because there has been a fair, transparent process arriving at them -- rather than complying out of resignation at best, fear at the worst.

The principle of commitment v compliance was foundational to one of my mentors Morton Deutsch, a grandfather of the conflict resolution field (1920-2017). Long before that, it was important to Abraham Lincoln one of the grandfathers of my country (1809-1865).