Conference Proceedings
Year
2007
Abstract
This presentation first analyses the historical move, and its underlying political meaning, which modified the role of secrecy towards third-parties in international negotiation. An evident norm from the Renaissance, secrecy could veil both the negotiation process and outcome. It was then contested from the Enlightenment to Wilson’s ambition of an open diplomacy. In contemporary times, an injunction of transparency gradually exposes negotiation arenas and their processes. Following this perspective, this research examines from the viewpoint of negotiation theories the justifications, risks and consequences of secrecy and transparency towards third-parties. It demonstrates that the latter constitute a dilemma: neither can permanently exclude the other in the negotiator’s strategy: in a nutshell, secrecy and transparency towards third-parties constitute a tension – as the literature puts it – between efficiency of the process and legitimacy of the outcome.
COLSON, A. (2007). La négociation internationale au risque de la transparence : rôles et figures du secret envers des tiers. Dans: Actes de la 3ème Biennale Internationale de la Négociation. Risques et négociation : recherche et applications. Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Paris.