Pax in Terra Sancta: Simulating the Middle East Peace Negotiations

Resumen

This exercise, which takes from 1 1/2 to 3 hours to run in a classroom or training setting, illustrates how power differentials impact negotiation; demonstrates how leadership style impacts decisionmaking, satisfaction and negotiation style; and explores the intergroup dynamics and trust involved in negotiations. The setting is the current Middle East -- the players are the four major players in the Middle East peace negotiations: Israel, Syria, Jordan and the Palestinians. Each team receives different leadership style instructions based on the predominant style that nation/group has typically used in past peace negotiations. Through several guided sets of negotiation time periods, the different teams try to achieve an optimal peace agreement.