Holistic formal analysis of dilemmas of negotiation

The purpose of this paper is to examine dilemmas arising during the negotiation process where negotiators claim their positions and threats reciprocally. To obtain an holistic view of the dilemmas, we first define the class of negotiation we will focus on and then argue that inconsistency between the claims leads to dilemmas. Then, after we define and classify six dilemmas rigorously in terms of a dramatic model, we show that these six dilemmas are all and only dilemmas arising in negotiation. This is the main finding of the paper. A holistic description of the inter‐relationships among the dilemmas is also presented. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.