The Risks and Benefits of Unilaterally Changing the Rules of the Game

In this article, Cutcher-Gershenfeld, McKersie, and Walton seek to conceptualize President Donald Trump's behavior in terms of negotiation theory and to highlight some of the consequences of his strategies and tactics from a theoretical perspective. Trump's forceful and unpredictable moves challenge a fundamental element of negotiation theory: the importance of establishing mutually agreed upon rules of the game. By suddenly withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations and the Paris Climate Accord, threatening withdrawal from the North American Free Trade Agreement, suddenly imposing large tariff increases, meeting face to face with the premier of North Korea, and directly confronting members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization regarding their respective budget contributions, Trump unilaterally broke from established expectations about how negotiations should be conducted in these arenas.