Round Of Negotiations Research Articles

Southern agency in global norms creation: Bangladesh in the SDGs formulation process

This paper examines which institutions, ideas, and interests have shaped the position of Bangladesh in creating the norms of the United Nations (UN)’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Bangladesh’s contribution to the SDGs norms creation process is examined in two distinct stages: drafting a position paper (June 2012–June 2013) and participating in UN Open Working Group (OWG) negotiations (March 2013–July 2014). Findings reveal how a small cohort of policy entrepreneurs played a key role in both stages. They gave prominence to ideas such as poverty alleviation, global inequality, and migrants’ rights in structuring the SDGs agenda. In the final round of OWG negotiations, Bangladeshi delegates calculated that active participation in the norms creation process would best serve the interests of the Global South by challenging the Global North which wanted to impose its interests. This paper offers an important insight into the norms literature by showing convergence and divergence of interests and agendas of global and local actors.

Effect of centralized volume-based procurement of drugs on business performance of listed pharmaceutical enterprises

Since March 2018, China has conducted five rounds of negotiations for the inclusion of drugs in the medical insurance system and implemented eight batches of centralized drug procurement. The role of the medical insurance department as a strategic purchaser in the pharmaceutical market has been continuously strengthened, playing a crucial role in controlling the unreasonable growth of medical expenses and reducing the economic burden on patients. The policy of centralized drug procurement, by exchanging quantity for price, can significantly reduce drug prices and lower the profit level of companies. However, being included in the centralized drug procurement catalog can bring a substantial and stable market share to the winning companies. Therefore, the impact of the centralized drug procurement policy on the operational performance of winning companies and how their business decisions should be adjusted remain to be thoroughly explored from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. To assess the impact of the centralized drug procurement policy on the operational performance of companies, this study takes publicly listed pharmaceutical manufacturing companies from 2016 to 2020 as the sample and conducts empirical analysis using methods such as difference in difference (propensity score) matching (PSM-DID). The results showed that the centralized volume-based procurement of drugs policy had a significant negative impact on the business performance of bidding listed pharmaceutical manufacturing companies, indicating that the increase in the sales of bidding drugs could not fully make up for the profit loss caused by the price reduction in the short term. Pharmaceutical manufacturing companies should further adjust their market competition strategies, actively engage in research and development innovation. The government should guide pharmaceutical companies to improve their operational performance while ensuring the quality of drug supply by optimizing the supporting innovative incentive policies in the centralized drug procurement policy.

"Russian-Ukrainian conflict" through the prism of users of the Chinese social network "Weibo"

The subject of this article is the views of Chinese netizens on the "Russian-Ukrainian conflict". The object of the study is posts about this topic on the Chinese social network "Weibo". The authors analyze the importance, functions of the Weibo in the production of public opinion and its main opinion leaders. Then the article examines the number of posts in month (15.02-15.03) compared to other international events and makes a content analysis of posts to find out the main topics and the attitude of users on the social network "Weibo" to the "Russian-Ukrainian conflict". At the end of the article, authors learn the relationship of the research results with stereotypes about the image of Russia in China. The results of the study show that Chinese Weibo users began to care about the event from the beginning of a special military operation, but interest faded with the first round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine. Chinese Weibo users pay attention to the role of the United States in the conflict and Western sanctions against Russia. They mainly reflect support for the Russian economy and opposition to Western sanctions, which also affects the Chinese government's statement on this event. The article considers that such views are closely connected with stereotypes about the image of Russia in China. The results of the study show that in future international events, the peoples of Russia and China have more opportunities to reach agreement.

It takes two to tango: the second session of negotiations (INC-2) for a global treaty to end plastic pollution

The United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) has completed its second round of negotiations on a new international legally binding instrument to ‘end plastic pollution’. This paper examines the results of the second session of negotiations, which took place May 29–June 2, 2023, and analyses the trends, barriers, and themes shaping the emerging legally binding instrument. The paper considers the discussion surrounding the Options Paper as presented by the INC Secretariat and United Nations Environmental Program based upon written submissions received by UN member states prior to the second session of negotiations. These include potential elements the future treaty text may include—namely objectives, core obligations, and implementation and monitoring measures. At the second session of negotiations, progress towards consensus on these items was severely lacking. We draw on close observations via event ethnography of participants during the negotiations and document analysis. We conclude by looking towards the third round of negotiations by discussing the ongoing ‘dance’ of sorts as submissions are being asked of member states and like-minded groups to contribute to the zero draft treaty text.

Why is there no investor-state dispute settlement in RCEP? bargaining and contestation in the investment regime

Abstract The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is one of the most important mega-regional trade agreements signed to date. Yet, it failed to include an Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism in its investment chapter. What explains this omission? To unpack this, we examine international negotiations as a two-step process. In the first stage, we theorize that initial preferences towards ISDS are based on countries’ orientation toward foreign direct investment (FDI), experience with ISDS, and past treaty practice. Second, we theorize that during protracted negotiations, adverse regime developments and domestic politics can have a profound impact on treaty design. To test our framework, we examine the RCEP negotiations. Our analysis shows that mounting cases as well as the eroding norm of ISDS in other treaties lowered support for ISDS as the negotiations progressed. Then, a change of government in Malaysia shifted that country’s position dramatically, which tipped the balance against ISDS in the final round of negotiations. Our findings have important implications for the international investment regime. They highlight the factors that determine countries’ initial preferences while also demonstrating the importance of developments during the negotiations, which can lead to the abandonment of the institutional status quo.

Soviet Diplomacy and Intelligence Efforts to Facilitate Finland’s Withdrawal from the 1941– 1944 War: Insights from Russian Archive

Through both intelligence channels and foreign policy efforts, Moscow gathered information in early 1941 about the growing alliance between Berlin and Helsinki, including increased German-Finnish military collaboration, the deployment of German troops and military equipment in Finland, the recruitment of Finnish volunteers for SS units in Germany, the construction of fortifications along the Soviet border, and the massing of Finnish forces near the Soviet frontier. Despite initially maintaining neutrality after Germany's invasion of the USSR, Finland declared war on the Soviet Union on June 26, 1941. The initial phase of the Soviet-Finnish front from July to December 1941 saw military successes favoring Finland. Subsequently, from late December 1941 until summer 1944, a "positional war" ensued with little change to the front line. During this period, Stockholm emerged as a key geopolitical hub where Soviet diplomats, led by A. Kollontai, and intelligence officers navigated the complex task of encouraging Finland to engage in peace talks with the Soviet Union and withdraw from the war. Sweden's neutrality in the conflict and its traditionally strong ties with Finland positioned it as an effective mediator in these negotiations. Additionally, Moscow successfully lobbied Washington to apply diplomatic pressure on Helsinki to initiate negotiations, which gradually began to yield positive results. The multifaceted efforts of Soviet diplomats and intelligence, coupled with A. Kollontai’s active involvement in this diplomatic endeavor, facilitated two rounds of Soviet-Finnish negotiations in Moscow in March and September 1944. While the March talks faltered due to Finnish delegates and political stances, the September negotiations succeeded in persuading Finland to agree to a truce, ceasing hostilities. This diplomatic victory contributed to the gradual disintegration of the anti-USSR coalition led by Germany, with Finland becoming a crucial component to exit this alliance.

From Advice to “Secret Mandates”: The Evolution of Government Intervention in Public-Sector Bargaining in Alberta, Canada

Governments in Canada are increasingly using multiple tools to advance their political agenda at the expense of free collective bargaining in the public sector. Legislative intervention has long been a strategy to curtail bargaining rights (Evans et al., 2023). Recently, governments have turned to non-legislative means to influence bargaining outcomes. This article is about the use of a coordination office, a decidedly non-legislative tactic, and how, over two rounds of negotiations, it transformed public-sector bargaining in Alberta. Bargaining has been further transformed by enactment of a legal requirement to keep the government’s mandates secret, the outcome being increased frustration among union representatives and potential damage to long-term relationships. Together, these measures have provided the government with a powerful means of influence, which, if successful, could spread to other jurisdictions.

Эволюция подходов Китая к экономической интеграции в АТР

The article is analyzing the latest trends in China’s participation in the integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region and their determining factors. The evolution of China’s approaches to integration processes in the region in key areas of trade, economic and investment interaction is considered. China’s integration cooperation with the Asia-Pacific countries is developing within three main multilateral formats, including the forum of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The One Belt, One Road Initiative occupies a special place in China’s policy regarding integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region. The paper analyzes the directions of development of these formats, the nature of their interaction with each other, the prospects for the integration of the Asia-Pacific countries and China’s participation in these processes. In connection with the stalled rounds of WTO trade negotiations and the postponement of the creation of a free trade area within the framework of the APEC, China’s participation in the RCEP strengthens its regional position while China has now become the leading trading partner for the countries participating in the agreement. ASEAN countries’ trade with China exceeds their trade with the United States. The article also considers trends and problems in the implementation of the Chinese One Belt, One Road Initiative. Among the problems are the discrepancies between the interests of the parties involved, the lack of investment resources, political factors. At the same time, the flexible nature of the Chinese Initiative, the absence of strict requirements for participants, and their interest in the project allows the One Belt, One Road to become the world’s largest cooperation platform operating on the principles of an open mega-partnership.

Internationalisation of Australian small and medium-sized enterprises: The case of the Australia and EU Free Trade Agreement

Australia is a member of many multilateral trade bodies and engages in trade agreements of a multilateral and bilateral kind across most regions. In June 2018, it launched negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU) which are still ongoing and since then Australia and the EU have conducted fifteen rounds of negotiations (last one on 28 May 2023 in Brussels). This paper aims to explore the business awareness of the EU amongst Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and to analyse the factors that influence their internationalisation. To ascertain this, we reviewed the results of two surveys[1] that were conducted pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic (also coinciding with the Brexit transition period). This paper argues that SMEs in Australia are essentially unaware of the EU as a market and that no significant change in the business perception of the EU and potential international trade opportunities occurred between the pre- and post-COVID-19 political contexts.

How the National Health Insurance Coverage policy changed the use of lenvatinib for adult patients with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: a retrospective cohort analysis with real world big data

BackgroundTo establish a long-term mechanism to control the cost burden of drugs, the Chinese government organized seven rounds of price negotiations for the national reimbursement drug list (NRDL) from 2016 to the end of 2022. The study aimed to evaluate the impact of the National Health Insurance Coverage (NHIC) policy on the use of lenvatinib as the first-line treatment for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) within a specific medical insurance region from the micro perspective of individual patient characteristics.MethodsThe data of HCC patients that received lenvatinib from September 2019 to August 2022 was retrieved from the Medical and Health Big Data Center and longitudinally analyzed. Contingency table chi-square statistics and binary logistic regression analysis were used to compare the differences in the categorical variables. Interrupted time-series (ITS) regression analysis was performed to evaluate the changes in the utilization of lenvatinib over 36 months. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze the impact of receiving lenvatinib on the total hospitalization expenses of hospitalized patients with advanced HCC.ResultsA total of 12,659 patients with advanced HCC were included in this study. The usage rate of lenvatinib increased from 6.19% to 15.28% over 36 months (P < 0.001). By controlling the other factors, consistent with this, the probability of patients with advanced HCC receiving lenvatinib increased by 2.72-fold after the implementation of the NHIC policy (OR = 2.720, 95% CI:2.396–3.088, P < 0.001). Older, residency in rural areas, lack of fixed income, treatment at hospitals below the tertiary level, and coverage by urban-rural residents’ basic medical insurance (URRBMI) were the factors affecting the use of lenvatinib among patients with advanced HCC (P < 0.05). After the implementation of the NHIC policy, the total hospitalization expenses increased (Beta=-0.040, P < 0.001). However, compared to patients who received lenvatinib, the total hospitalization expenses were higher for those who did not receive the drug (US$5022.07 ± US$5488.70 vs. US$3701.63 ± US$4330.70, Beta = 0.062, P < 0.001).ConclusionsThe NHIC policy has significantly increased the utilization of lenvatinib. In addition, we speculate that establishing multi-level medical insurance systems for economically disadvantaged patients would be beneficial in improving the effectiveness of the NHIC policy in the real world.

The secret of September: The 1949 oil agreements between the United States and South Korea

AbstractAfter the Second World War, the US government established a new oil order, forming close ties with three major oil companies—Standard Vacuum, Shell, and California-Texas—referred to as the ‘Three Sisters’ in Korea, which was newly liberated from Japanese colonialism. Even after the South Korean government was established, the US government and the Three Sisters worked to maintain the order. Using the carrot of the Economic Cooperation Administration (ECA) funds, in 1949 the US government pressured the South Korean government into oil agreements that would facilitate the supply of petroleum products to the country. The 1949 oil agreements were completed after three rounds of negotiations. The process of signing the agreements was not limited to the import, storage, and sale of petroleum products in exchange for US aid to South Korea. It also sought to respond to the various interests of Koreans who wanted to create an independent economic structure in the midst of establishing a new government. This article explores the three rounds of negotiations for the 1949 oil agreements whereby the symbiotic relationship between the US government and the Three Sisters was realized in partnership with the interests of the South Korean government. Furthermore, it seeks to broaden the research on the history of Korean oil by promoting an understanding of how US oil policy affected Korea immediately after its liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Optimizing Orthopaedic Trauma Implant Pricing Through a Data-Driven and Surgeon-Integrated Approach.

To determine if market-based pricing could be coupled with surgeon integration into negotiation strategies to achieve lower pricing levels for orthopaedic trauma implants. A secondary aim was to identify specific types of implants that may offer larger opportunities for cost savings. Market pricing levels were reviewed from two industry implant databases. This information was used by surgeons and supply chain management (SCM) at our institution to select appropriate target pricing levels (25th percentile) for commonly used orthopaedic trauma implants. Target price values were provided to the existing 12 vendors utilized by our institution with a clear expectation that vendors meet these thresholds. Benchmark modeling projected a potential savings of 20.0% over our prior annual spend on trauma implants. Following two rounds of negotiation, savings amounted to 23.0% of prior annual spend. Total savings exceeded 1,000,000 USD with 11 of 12 vendors (91.7%) offering net savings. Total percent savings were highest for external fixators, drill bits, and K-wires. Plates and screws comprised the greatest proportion of our prior annual spend and achieved similar savings. A surgeon and supply chain coordinated effort led to major cost savings without a need for consolidation of vendors.

The Impact of Iran's Nuclear Program on Iranian-American Relations (2010-2021)

Objectives: This paper explores the relationship between Iran and the U.S., focusing on Iran's nuclear program. It examines how successive U.S. administrations have addressed the issue and analyzes the responses of newly elected Presidents of the U.S. and Iran, as well as the Prime Minister of Israel, to the ongoing Iran Nuclear Deal negotiations using an analytical approach.&#x0D; Methods: The study employs an analytical methodology derived from the fields of political and social sciences, moving beyond traditional approaches in international relations.&#x0D; Results: The paper argues that Iran's development and acquisition of nuclear weapons, as a regional power, pose a direct threat to regional stability and may trigger a nuclear arms race. The interests of the U.S. and its allies in the region would also be endangered.&#x0D; Conclusions: The paper concludes that both Washington and Tehran should reach a mutually beneficial agreement to maintain regional power balance and prevent the potential for an arms race, especially with the seventh round of negotiations approaching. As Iran pursues destabilizing regional ambitions in the Middle East, posing a strategic threat to U.S. interests and allies, the U.S. should reassess its Middle East policy to ensure that Iran does not exploit sanctions relief and its remaining nuclear energy capacity to expand its revolutionary agenda throughout the region.

A Q-learning approach to generating behavior of emotional persuasion with adaptive time belief in decision-making of agent-based negotiation

There is an increasing research interest in agent-based automated negotiation. However, how to design an agent that can adaptively compete with its human counterpart is still in its early stage. This research makes efforts toward this end by modeling two essential elements of human-led negotiation: emotion and timing, to adapt to negotiation dynamics. In multi-issue-multi-round bilateral negotiation, the Web-Fechner law is applied to model an agent’s emotion generation and the emotion decay law is used to realize a decaying property of emotion. Meanwhile, rather than a fixed time belief, agents are endowed with time beliefs that can vary with selected negotiation tactics and be adjusted by agents’ emotions. A proposal updating algorithm integrating those two elements is consequently proposed based on Q-learning. Then, 135 numerical experiments were conducted with comparative analyses and statistical tests. The results show that the proposed model can significantly increase an individual agent’s utility, the joint utility, and the probability of successful negotiations by an average of 76.14%, 172.22%, and 66.10%, respectively, whereas reducing the utility difference and negotiation rounds by an average of 97.39% and 29.57%, respectively. These results imply that the proposed negotiation model has advantages in improving negotiation utility, efficiency, and outcome fairness.

International and domestic leadership for fulfilling carbon neutrality in emerging economies: comparative evidence from China and India

The socioeconomic impacts of potential climate policies are unevenly distributed across the globe, and different countries take different leading positions in fulfilling carbon neutrality. We select two top-emitting emerging economies, China and India, as our case studies. Considering structural, entrepreneurial, ideational, and exemplary leadership based on the leadership theory, we analyze the two countries’ international and domestic positions in climate change mitigation after each became active climate action taker (i.e. during 2008–2021). We further rely on interest-based and norm-based approaches to explore the driving factors of their leading positions. We conclude that although China is generally more inclined to take the leading position, China and India currently both exert substantive leadership, especially prevalent in recent international climate negotiation rounds. China and India’s consistency of international and domestic leadership evolves via different paths. China initially focused more on international rather than domestic leadership positions (symbolic leader), while India initially took the opposite approach (pioneer). An alignment between international and domestic leadership is found in both countries in more recent years, making both countries substantive leaders. Compared with the interest-based approach, the norm-based approach has greater explanatory power for the two countries’ leading position.

The Joint Development Agreement between Senegal and Guinea-Bissau: A Summary and Brief Analysis

1. On 14 October 1993, the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of Guinea-Bissau (“the Parties”), after rounds of negotiations, reached the Management and Cooperation Agreement (“the Agreement”), which ended the proceeding in the International Court of Justice and put aside the maritime delimitation dispute between the two States. The Agreement was later improved upon by a subsequent Protocol Relating to the Organisation and Operation of the Agency for Management and Cooperation of 12 June 1995 (“the Protocol”), which brought into existence the framework for the actualization of the agreement between the two countries. 2. This paper aims to provide a summary of and a brief analysis on the Agreement and its subsequent Protocol. It begins with a historical review of the background of the Senegal and Guinea-Bissau boundary disputes and previous efforts made by the two countries to settle their disputes. It then goes on to give a more detailed analysis of the contents of the Agreement and its ensuing Protocol. Finally, it concludes with an analysis of the impacts of the Agreement and lessons that could be learned.

The Issue of ‘Heixiazi Island’ on the Eastern Border Between China and the Soviet Union (Russia)

In order to resolve the bilateral land border issue, from 1964 to 2004, the governments of China and the Soviet Union (Russia) held four rounds of diplomatic negotiations, and finally resolved this historical issue that affects the healthy development of bilateral relations by delimiting the border between China and Russia which is about 4,300 kilometers long. Due to its special nature and historical status, the issue of Heixiazi Island has always been an important factor affecting the historical process and even the outcome of Sino-Soviet (Russian) border negotiations. This article mainly reviews the negotiation history of the Heixiazi Island issue and analyzes the positions and viewpoints held by China and the Soviet Union during the negotiations. A brief comment is also made on the settlement of the Heixiazi Island issue through negotiations from the perspective of international law.

Enterprise negotiation and communication management system under the guidance of the Internet of Things.

The multi-agent system is used to study the negotiation problem of virtual enterprises in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT) to strengthen the decision-making ability of enterprises and improve the negotiation efficiency between different enterprises. Firstly, virtual enterprises and high-tech virtual enterprises are introduced. Secondly, the virtual enterprise negotiation model is implemented using the agent technology in the IoT, including constructing the operation mode of the alliance enterprise agent and the member enterprise agent. Finally, a negotiation algorithm based on improved Bayesian theory is proposed. It is applied to virtual enterprise negotiation, and the effect of the negotiation algorithm is verified by setting an example. The results show that: (1) When one side of the enterprise adopts a risk-taking strategy, the number of negotiation rounds between the two sides increases. (2) High joint utility can be achieved when both parties to the negotiation adopt a conservative strategy. (3) The improved Bayesian algorithm can improve the negotiation efficiency of enterprises by reducing the number of negotiation rounds. This study aims to achieve efficient negotiation between the alliance and the member enterprises to improve the decision-making ability of the alliance owner enterprise.

Water resources optimal allocation model for coordinating regional multi-level water resources managers’ interests

In water resources management on a global scale, it is important to reconcile the conflicting interests of different regions and actors regarding water use. To solve this issue more effectively, an optimal allocation model of water resources that coordinates the interests of regional multi-level water resource managers and balances the benefits acquired by regional multi-level water resource managers was proposed. The model consisted of three components, including option generation, option selection, and fallback bargaining. The Hybrid Strategy Whale Optimization Algorithm (HSWOA) was created to generate the initial alternative set throughout the alternative generation process. In the alternative screening process, quick non-dominated sorting was used to choose Pareto alternatives from the initial alternative set. Through many rounds of negotiations, water resource managers at all levels reached a consensual water resource allocation plan during fallback bargaining. This model was used to reconcile the conflicting water interests of municipal and county water managers in Handan, China, in terms of economic, social, and ecological benefits. It was also compared with the Pareto solution set obtained from NSGA-III. In terms of convergence speed and accuracy, the results demonstrated that HSWOA outperformed the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA). The results show that several rounds of discussions between municipal and county water management eventually resulted in Nash equilibrium. In normal flow year, the recommended scheme could yield economic benefit of 315.08×108 Yuan, social benefit of 0.1700, and ecological benefit of 5.70 × 106 m3, whereas in low flow year, the recommended scheme could yield economic benefit of 354.85×108 Yuan, social benefit of 0.2103, and ecological benefit of 57.82 × 106 m3. Compared to existing studies, the recommended scheme has clear advantages in terms of social and ecological benefits. The proposed optimal water resource allocation was Pareto optimal. This paper presented a new way of thinking about reconciling the conflicting interests of different levels of water resource managers in the process of water allocation.

Austria: Policies dealing with the inflation crisis

Inflation in Austria started to rise from mid-2021 during recovery from the Corona crisis. The Russian invasion in Ukraine and the heavy increases in energy prices made things worse and brought inflation to over 10%. The government did not enter into direct formal negotiations with social partners but subsequent anti-inflation packages met many demands made by the social partners. The attempt to influence wage negotiations via a tax exemption for one-off payments failed as they were not widely used in collective agreements. One-off payments are not suitable to compensate for permanent real wage losses. Current wage negotiations are tougher than usual, requiring long negotiation rounds including the thread of industrial action. The policy of unions to base their demand on past inflation allows for a substantial delay in nominal wage increases. The government has not yet included more direct measures to fight high inflation, like direct price controls, changes to the design of markets, or reforms of the automatic housing rent indexation. The wage setting system in Austria is still working but it will remain difficult to reach agreements, especially as a substantial part of the real wage losses has to be recovered over the coming years. A stronger use of regulatory measures and direct public involvement in the energy, housing and potentially the food price sector might be required if the current energy supply crisis and the transformation to a low carbon economy should be managed successfully in the future.