No one was surprised that British Prime Minister Theresa May’s proposed Brexit deal was rejected Tuesday by the House of Commons. What was surprising was that the vote was 432 to 202. Normally, such a humiliating defeat would lead to the resignation of the prime minister. That is highly unlikely to happen: May will continue as prime minister, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn’s motion of no confidence is unlikely to succeed. However, it’s hard to see an alternative deal that would pass muster with both the House of Commons and the European Union.
There’s no real room for compromise and negotiation
Scholars of international relations tend to assume that negotiations only happen where there is a plausible agreement that all parties can live with. In technical language, they start from the assumption that there is a “win set” of possible deals that might be reached, some of which are more favorable to one negotiating party, others of which are more favorable to the other. Which of the possible deals in the win set usually depends on the bargaining power of the parties.
Read the full piece at The Washington Post.
- Publication Type:Other Writing
- Publication Date:01/16/2019