Lecturing from his book French Negotiating Behavior, Charles Cogan explores the cultural and historical factors that have shaped the French approach and then dissects their key elements. He postulates that French negotiators often seem more interested in asserting their country's "universal" mission than in reaching an agreement, and he uses three recent case studies to illustrate this uniquely French mélange. Cogan also offers practical suggestions for making negotiations more cooperative and productive.
Charles G. Cogan is a Senior Research Associate at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He spent 37 years in the Central Intelligence Agency, lastly as CIA Chief in Paris. After leaving the CIA, he earned a doctorate in public administration at Harvard. He is currently working on a book for the United States Institute of Peace in its Cross-Cultural Negotiations series, entitled *French Negotiating Behavior: Dealing with "La Grande Nation."*