Diplomacy: Theory and Practice, 6th ed. – Online updating pages
Chapter 3: ‘Around-the-Table’ Negotiations
p. 44, ‘linkage’: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a master at employing this tactic, which he used to spectacular effect at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July 2023; see the piece by Jamie Dettmer in Further Reading below. But by 2025 US President Donald Trump had completely stolen the limelight from him in this regard by the manner in which he linked trade negotiations (‘beautiful tariffs’) to foreign policy objectives.
p. 45, The details stage: It’s probably in this stage that AI is most likely to have a useful impact. In my review of Jovan Kurbalija’s recent book, I wrote as follows: ‘Thus he is firm that diplomatic representation and negotiation are greatly helped via AI’s automated translation and interpretation services, and that its ability to master vast datasets allows it to help negotiation further by providing exceptional background research and – via simulation, predictive modelling and real-time analysis of public opinion responses – the opportunity to adjust strategy accordingly.
p.46, Difficulties: To help overcome these ‘it is often wise to allow parallel negotiation on each of the main areas of a [prospective] deal rather than sequential discussion of each in turn’ (Westcott, p. 80).
Topics for Seminar Discussion or Essays
5. ‘A diplomatic success is a contradiction in terms.’ Discuss.
6. Discuss Kurbalija’s view of the likely impact of AI on international negotiations.
Further Reading
Dettmer, Jamie, ‘Erdoğan: The master haggler of world politics’, Politico, 15 July 2023
Messerly, Megan et al, ‘Trump turns trade talks into foreign policy wish list’, Politico, 28 June 2025
Westcott, Nicholas, How to be a Diplomat (Routledge, 2026), ch.4