Why a cooperative negotiation strategy might be more effective than a competitive one

Theresa May would prefer no deal to a “bad deal”, Jeremy Corbyn believes no deal is a bad deal.

Under the Tories, a post-Brexit future for UK without a deal with the EU is conceivable. A Conservative government would be happy to walk away from negotiations if their demands are not (or not sufficiently) met. Under Labour, we would expect the Government to do everything in its power to reach a deal with the EU.

On the face of it, these two approaches represent two classically opposing negotiation styles, on the one hand a competitive, or “positional” strategy, on the other a cooperative, or “interest-based” one. Continue reading →