No Deal Negotiation

The prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, expressed his concerns over the Brexit negotiation between the UK and the EU. Based on the current status of the negotiation, it is highly likely to see a no deal Brexit in the near future; and Germany and France are preparing themselves for a no deal Brexit. This is not the only negotiation deadlock appearing on the world political stage, the negotiation between China and the US is also stuck in a deadlock.

What causes a negotiation deadlock? There are several causes. First, if the two sides do not have common interests, then they are unlikely to propose any agreement that both sides can agree on, and it is literally impossible to have a mutually beneficial agreement. However, this is not very likely to see such case under a globalised system. Secondly, when the two sides are both dealing with multidimensional goals, they are very difficult to come to an agreement, as when they have multidimensional goals, it is difficult for both sides to find the Nash Equilibrium of the ”game”. Thirdly, when the two sides are playing a chicken game, and they have information asymmetry, since their strategies are depending on each other’s, then it is possible to see that it takes very long for them to come to an agreement, especially they are many available strategies. Fourthly, once more countries are involved in a negotiation, it is less likely for them to come to an agreement, as the game becomes more complicated when more players are included.

Overall, as countries have multidimensional goals and many strategies to play, it is actually very easy for the negotiations between countries to be stuck in deadlocks.