Mediating Multilateral Trade Negotiations

When states negotiate multilaterally they often call on ambassadors, ministers, or secretariat leaders to play the role of broker or mediator to help them overcome impasses. Yet little is known about how this role is played, what choices these mediators make with what consequences, or how the role might be played better. Preliminary research on GATT and WTO negotiations suggests that this function has three related dimensions. The task is partly organizational - creating and managing an organization to help carry out this function. The task is partly intellectual and subjective - gathering information, identifying the parties’ true reservation values, and imagining a formula or focal point that will create value and become an equilibrium. And the task is partly tactical - the mediator makes choices among communication, formulation, and manipulation tactics. This paper describes these three dimensions using examples collected through interviews with former mediators and other participants, and suggests directions for future research