Patrick Baaklini
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Beyond Active Listening: Emotional Diagnosis at the Heart of Negotiation
In the popular imagination, a good negotiator is an outstanding communicator, someone able to speak with ease and win people over. The reality is quite different: the most durable and most profitable agreements rarely come from a gift for public speaking, but from a rare ability to listen intelligently. If you are looking to master…
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The Negotiators Don’t Have the Gun
Written by Patrick Baaklini Lebanon today finds itself at the center of two diplomatic tracks that appear, at least on the surface, to pursue the same objective: preventing another devastating war with Israel. Yet beneath this apparent convergence lies a fundamental contradiction. Lebanon is negotiating through its official institutions, while Hezbollah continues to maintain its…
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Strait of Hormuz Crisis (2026): Strategic Challenges and Paths to Resolution
Patrick Baaklini The 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis has become one of the most serious geopolitical flashpoints between the United States and Iran. This strategic waterway is essential to the global energy trade, and instability there can have direct consequences for oil prices, inflation, shipping costs, and international markets. For professionals and students studying negotiation,…
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In Secretive Oman Talks, U.S. and Iran Weigh a Fragile Peace Against the Brink of War
Written by Patrick Baaklini MUSCAT, Oman — In the cool, marbled corridors of a royal guest palace on the outskirts of Muscat, the future of the Middle East is being bartered in whispers and relayed through intermediaries. After a year defined by the thunder of aerial bombardments and the smoke of street protests, the United…
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Trade Negotiations Under Pressure: How Nations Navigate Tariff Wars and Free Trade Agreements
by Patrick Baaklini An Era of Rising Protectionism At a time of resurgent protectionism and geopolitical realignment, trade negotiations have become more crucial and more complex than ever. The ongoing negotiations between India and the European Union over a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) offer a compelling case study in modern trade diplomacy, revealing how negotiations…
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Defusing Aggression: Can You Apply the Buddha Method?
Aggression is not confined to the political or social spheres. Anyone can be confronted with it on a daily basis in professional negotiations or in their private life: faced with a complaint from a dissatisfied customer, a disgruntled colleague or a screaming teenager.
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What do Theresa May and the EU, the EU and Donald Trump, Emmanuel Macron and the Gilets Jaunes have in common?
The Harvard approach known as “The Strategy of Mutual Gains” teaches us that one of the key conditions for the success of any negotiation is to have a good alternative to a negotiated agreement (MESORE) before it even starts.
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Confidence in negotiation: how to develop it and when to be wary of it?
By Michel Ghazal. For me, the two main qualities of a good negotiator are the ability to give the other person the real feeling of being listened to and the ability to gain the other person’s trust.
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Avoid making this mistake when negotiating
Since taking office, Boris Johnson has brandished what he would do if the European Union refused to renegotiate the agreement reached with Theresa May: an exit with a “no deal” on 31 October. The dispute centres on one point in particular: the “safety net” designed to protect Europe from non-European products AND to avoid creating…
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Negotiation, the art of living with others
Interview with Michel Ghazal by Violaine Gelly, Revue Psychologie. Negotiating isn’t just about sitting around a table to discuss a problem. It’s about trying, every day, to reach agreements with those around you,” explains Michel Ghazal.
