NEGOTIATION LESSONS FROM INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian in DC. I went specifically to see an exhibit that I was told about called “Nation to Nation: Treaties Between the United States & the American Indian Nations”. From a negotiation scholar perspective, I found it not only enlightening from the US historical standpoint, but perhaps even more so from an international relations standpoint and specifically a better understanding of international treaties and treaty negotiations.

One insight that emerged for me during that visit was the difference between an agreement and a treaty. An agreement is a legal document which states and defines legal obligations, considerations, warranties and covenants between the parties, and is sustained by the rule of law and enforced through judicial consequences. (Or in cases of international law, by the United Nations charter and the International Court of Justice). A treaty, on the other hand, is not only a legal agreement, but goes way beyond that, in that it also defines the desired relationship between the parties. It is sustained not only by the rule of law, but moreover by trust, honesty and integrity. In addition to being a legal agreement, it is also very much a moral one too.

What further struck me in seeing that exhibit was how differently the United States viewed treaties as compared to the American Indian Nations.