Negotiation and the Global Information Economy

by J. P. Singh

Overview

What role do diplomacy and negotiations play in economic globalization? Many argue that great powers shape diplomacy to their advantage, others that, in a 'flat world', diplomacy helps everyone. Going beyond these polarized views, this book explores the conditions under which negotiations matter and the ways in which diplomacy is evolving in the global commercial arena. J. P. Singh argues that where there is a diffusion or decentralization of power among global actors, diplomacy can be effective in allowing the adjustment of positions so that mutual gains will result. In contrast, when there is a concentration of power, outcomes tend to benefit the strong. There will be little alteration in perception of interest, and coercion by strong powers is common. Singh's book suggests that there are possibilities for transformational problem-solving through multilateral diplomacy. Empirically, the book examines the most important information-age trade issues.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521731089
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/20/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	380
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

J. P. Singh is Associate Professor at the graduate program in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University. His book publications include Leapfrogging Development? The Political Economy of Telecommunications Restructuring (1999) and Information Technologies and Global Politics (co-edited with James N. Rosenau, 2002). He has also authored over three-dozen scholarly articles. He has been a visiting scholar at the World Trade Organization in Geneva and at the New America Foundation in Washington, DC. He was Editor of the Wiley-Blackwell journal Review of Policy Research: The Politics and Policy of Science and Technology, from 2006–09.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Introduction; 2. Power, interests, and negotiations; 3. Services and intellectual property: multilateral framework negotiations; 4. Cultural industries and telecommunications: multilateral sectoral negotiations; 5. Infrastructure pricing negotiations: evaluating alternatives when facing a significant market power; 6. Electronic commerce: reaching agreement when facing market power in Internet governance and data privacy; 7. Conclusion: power and governance.

Editorial Reviews

J. P. Singh offers a portable analytic framework for analyzing negotiations, and makes a persuasive case for the conditions under which the negotiation process itself is likely to have a decisive impact. Scholars and students of global governance will find this systematic, lucid, and thoughtful book to be illuminating and well worth reading. The empirical work is particularly masterful and original.”
Susan K. Sell, Professor of Political Science and International Affairs and Director of the Institute for Global and International Studies, George Washington University

“Meticulous analysis and a compelling argument make Negotiation and the Global Information Economy a substantial contribution to our understanding of international negotiations and their role in global governance. The research is comprehensive and the coverage impressive. This is excellent scholarship and sure to become a benchmark in the field.”
Rorden Wilkinson, Professor of International Political Economy and Head of the Centre for International Politics, University of Manchester

“J. P. Singh has carried negotiation analysis into the outer space of globalization and IT. This book will not only help us understand possible trajectories through that newly opened space but will help those who navigate it do so in ways that avoid accidents and turn conflicts into positive-sum outcomes.”
William Zartman, Professor Emeritus, Johns Hopkins University

"A thorough reexamination of the process of international negotiation is long overdue, and this book, by one of the leading scholars of the global governance of information technology, does much to clarify the terms of debate."
Perspectives on Politics, Ian Hall, Griffith University

From the Publisher