The Science and Art of Diplomatic Negotiation — Ida Manton

This episode of The IR thinker explores the practice and pedagogy of diplomatic negotiation with Ida Manton, examining how teaching methods have evolved, how technology intersects with human skills, and how sensitive topics such as climate change and human rights are incorporated into training. The conversation also considers the use of case studies, the role of theory, emerging specialisations such as cyber and vaccine diplomacy, and the core skills that effective negotiators need today.Ida MantonIda Manton is a researcher and trainer with more than 18 years of experience teaching diplomats, government officials, businesspeople, military personnel and students across Europe and Central Asia in diplomacy, international negotiation, mediation and conflict resolution. She has worked with leading diplomatic academies and organisations including the OSCE, the European Union, NATO, and universities such as the College of Europe, the American University of Central Asia and the Prague University of Economics and Business, and is an active member of the Programme of International Negotiation Trainers.Program On International Negotiation Training (POINT)Ida’s Recommended Publications for everyone who wants to dive into diplomatic negotiations:Diplomatic Negotiation - Essence and EvolutionMaking Conflict Work: Harnessing the Power of Disagreement by Peter T. Coleman and Robert FergusonThe Practical NegotiatorHelsinki Revisited: A Key U.S. Negotiator’s Memoirs on the Development of the CSCE into the OSCE (Soviet and Post-Soviet Politics and Society)PIN BooksContent00:00 - Introduction02:46 - Evolution of Diplomatic Negotiation Teaching09:36 - Technology vs. Human Skills in Negotiations16:23 - Challenges in Teaching International Negotiations20:12 - Student vs. Diplomat: Learning Diplomatic Negotiation23:59 - Utilising Case Studies in Negotiation Education29:10 - Influence of Trends, Climate Change and Human Rights, on Teaching34:08 - Handling Sensitive Topics in Teaching39:46 - Theory’s Role in Negotiation Education44:14 - Ethics and Morality in Negotiation48:49 - Negotiation Specialities: Cyber, Sport, Vaccine Diplomacy53:21 - Guest Experts in Negotiation Classes57:27 - Essential Skills for Negotiators01:02:06 - Importance of Language in NegotiationFollow & Further ResourcesSubstack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ir-thinker/X: https://x.com/irthinker_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/irthinkerfb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.