ANALYTICAL SUPPORT TO NEGOTIATIONS - AN EMPIRICAL-ASSESSMENT

Twenty-three cases of international negotiation are analyzed and compa red to better understand the role of analytical and informational tool s in supporting practical negotiators. For each case, data were gather ed through interviews with Austrian diplomats on the type and amount o f analytical support provided, associated bureaucratic support, and pr oblems encountered along with a host of key factors about the case its elf-the issues, situation, strategies, process, structures, and outcom es. These data were coded and analyzed statistically. It was found tha t most analytical support is qualitative in nature and can be categori zed as information organizing tools, comparison methods and creativity techniques; economic negotiations, in particular, tended to be suppor ted more by quantitative methods, including forecasting and statistica l models. Analytical support is particularly important to understand o wn and other side positions and strategies and to bolster complex nego tiations that require issue packaging. A generational gap between seni or and mid-level diplomats emerged: junior practitioners expressed a g reater interest in analytical support tools. In general, the applicati on of analytical support was perceived positively among practitioners and was correlated with the achievement of treaties and comprehensive solutions. These findings suggest that there needs to be greater inves tment in developing and providing practical analytical support to nego tiators, more supporting infrastructure to facilitate the use of these techniques, and increased training opportunities.