Finding a way forward: 2 steps to come up with alternative solutions and develop a negotiation strategy

In our last blog, we explored the intersection between humanitarian negotiation and diplomacy and the different steps that contribute to its effectiveness.

Following our guidance will help you advance humanitarian agendas by leveraging diplomatic channels.

But what should you do when you become stuck in a deadlock and feel there is no way to reach common ground?

We will explore different ways to come up with alternative solutions for your negotiations.

But first, let’s start with a little refresher…

Effective humanitarian diplomacy requires:

Steps 1 to 4 are detailed in our last blog.  

Once you have identified and prioritised the issues at stake, mapped relevant actors, analysed interests and motives, prioritised your objectives and key messages, you should prepare multiple scenarios for your negotiation process.

Starting by negotiating the ideal objective will increase your chances of a successful outcome. However, you should  be ready to discuss acceptable alternatives in case the ideal outcome is proven unattainable or non-negotiable.

How many alternatives do you have?

Let’s consider the following scenario:you are in charge of a food distribution, and a given counterpart is asking you to hand over the personal information of the people receiving humanitarian assistance from your organisation.

It might seem like you only have two options here:

1. To share the people’s personal information. 
2. To not share the people’s personal information.    

Is that correct?  Not really….

Let’s rethink the options and reflect on more acceptable alternatives.   

Consider the following:

1. If you train yourself to think beyond the specificities of your counterpart’s requests, anticipate some of them, and are prepared, you can explore more alternatives.   
2. Many requests from counterparts can be intentional and aim to put you and your organisation in a difficult position to compromise. But others could be triggered by something else. A request for information or money could be based on a tendency to control, a concern about the way humanitarian organisations work, or a lack of information about humanitarian methods and approaches. Turn those requests into opportunities to understand the motives behind them.  
3. There is a difference between what people ask for, what they want, and what they need.  
4. Build a diverse negotiation support team. Think of gender, expertise, and backgrounds and how your counterpart perceives these characteristics to help you propose better acceptable alternatives.  

An effective strategy comes from thoroughly understanding the context, objectives, actors, interests, and alternatives. The strategy results from all the previous steps.

An effective humanitarian diplomacy strategy is constructed, not forced.

While some common tactics can help you better prepare for the negotiation, it is important to accept that humanitarian diplomacy often faces complex dilemmas with no perfect solution.

In a recent discussion, Peter Maurer, former Swiss diplomat and President of the CCHN Governing Board, reminded us that:

How can you, as a humanitarian diplomacy practitioner, navigate dilemmas? 

Start by exploring the possible polarities.

Polarities offer two options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. There is rarely an ultimate “correct” solution.

Here is a non-extensive list of tactical polarities to consider while developing your strategy:

Consider the following:

1. You may need to adapt your tactics to the actors, objectives, and situations.  
2. You can navigate between polarities. For example, you can choose to be part of an alliance negotiating a broad humanitarian issue while maintaining a bilateral engagement on a specific challenge to your organisation.   
3. You must re-evaluate your tactics after each engagement and adapt your strategy accordingly.  

It requires practice, experience, and adaptability to learn which tactic works with which counterpart and in which situation.

There are no shortcuts.

According to Peter Maurer, this process:  

Effective humanitarian diplomacy requires:  

1. Defining the problem and prioritising issues  
2. Mapping relevant actors and stakeholders  
3. Analysing interests and motives of individuals and states  
4. Defining objectives and framing messages  
5. Proposing alternatives  
6. Developing your strategy  

These steps will allow you to build relationships, promote dialogue, and seek common ground to advance shared interests and values.

Good luck!