LANGUAGE GAMES - DIALOGICAL ANALYSIS OF INF NEGOTIATIONS

This essay proposes dialogical analysis as a method of modeling politi cal interactions. The method combines the formal theory of dialogical disputation, a family of theories drawn from linguistic pragmatics, an d formal proof procedures. By analyzing models of their explicit and i mplicit contents in context, the method identifies the argumentative t hrust of negotiation dialogues and shows systematically how the partie s signal intent and commitment to one another. The paper illustrates t he method by applying it to superpower interactions in the 1980s INF n egotiations. The analysis indicates that American force deployments di d not motivate the Soviet retreat from their early insistence on compe nsation for European missiles. The change in the Soviet position is be tter attributed to their strategic reconceptualization of the Cold War insecurity dilemma.