Continuing Power of Cultural Tradition and Socialist Ideology: Cross-Cultural Negotiations Involving Chinese, Korean, and American Negotiators, The

Authors

Richard W. Downing

Abstract

This Comment approaches the issue of "cultural" factors in international negotiations by examining cross-cultural negotiation in which the People's Republic of China (PRC) and Korea (North and South) have dealt with Western nations. First, the cultural heritage of these nations appears important. Confucian ideals, for example, have had a tremendous impact on China for thousands of years,7 and they continue to influence modern societies. Second, more recent political tradition, namely the "ideology" of Marx, Lenin, and Mao, has also had an impact on the conduct and goals of conflict resolution today. As one scholar states, the "Chinese view of negotiation, so different from, and even incompatible with,... the Western view, rests on a Marxist-Leninist base." This Comment tries to answer such questions as whether these two "traditions" reinforce, contradict, or merely run parallel to each other, but will also take up more practical concerns such as how they influence negotiations with members of other cultures, specifically the United States. The Comment will not argue that culture is the only, or even the most important, factor that affects such cross-cultural negotiations. Instead, it will examine how cultural tradition and political ideology affect negotiation style, how culture and ideology cause difficulties in negotiations with the United States, and it will make some suggestions on how these difficulties might be alleviated.

Recommended Citation

Richard W. Downing, Continuing Power of Cultural Tradition and Socialist Ideology: Cross-Cultural Negotiations Involving Chinese, Korean, and American Negotiators, The, 1992 J. Disp. Resol. (1992)
Available at: https://scholarship.law.missouri.edu/jdr/vol1992/iss1/7