Psychological and Political Strategies for Peace Negotiation - A Cognitive Approach

Peace is one of the most sought after commodities around the world, and as a result, individuals and countries employ a variety of tactics to obtain it. One of the most common practices used to accomplish peace is negotiation. With its elevated role in the dialogue surrounding peace, negotiation is often steeped in politics and focused on managing parties in conflict. However, the art and science of negotiation can and should be viewed more broadly to include a psychological and cognitive approach.

Psychological and Political Strategies for Peace Negotiation gathers the foremost authors in the field and combines their expertise into a volume which addresses the complexity of peace negotiation strategies. To further underscore the importance of successful negotiation strategies, the editors have also included the unique perspective of authors with personal experience with political upheaval in Serbia and Lebanon. Though each chapter focuses on a different topic, they are integrated to create a foundation for future research and practice.

Specific topics included in this volume embrace:

• Changing minds and the multiple intelligence (MI) framework
• Personal schemas in the negotiation process
• Escalation of image in international conflicts
• Representative decision making
• Transformative leadership for peace negotiation

Psychological and Political Strategies for Peace Negotiation is an essential reference for psychologists, negotiators, mediators, and conflict managers, as well as for students and researchers in international, cross-cultural and peace psychology studies.


Francesco Aquilar received his 'Dottore in Psicologia' degree from the University of Rome, Italy. He is a psychologist and a cognitive-behavioral psychotherapist in private practice in Naples, Italy. Dr. Aquilar is the President of the Italian Association for Social and Cognitive Psychotherapy (AIPCOS), and Supervisor of the Italian Society for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapy (SITCC). Since more than 15 years he is a member of the Governing Body of the European Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (EABCT). He has more than 60 professional publications in the areas of anxiety disorders, eating disorders, marital and family discord, social psychology, interpersonal negotiations, and has also given numerous international presentations on the cognitive-behavioural treatment of psychological problems and couple distress. Among his many publications, Dr. Aquilar is author of Test psicologici e pubblicità (Psychological testing and advertising, Rome 1982), Riconoscere le emozioni (Identifying emotions, Milan 2000), Psicoterapia dell'amore e del sesso (Psychotherapy for love and sex problems, Milan 2006a), Le donne dalla A alla Z (Women from A to Z, Milan 2006b); he is editor or coeditor of La coppia in crisi: istruzioni per l'uso (Couples in crisis: operating instructions, with S. Ferrante, Assisi 1994), La coppia in crescita (Couples in growth, Assisi 1996), Psicoterapia delle fobie e del panico (Psychotherapy for phobias and panic, with E. Del Castello, Milan 1998), Psicoterapia dell'anoressia e della bulimia (Psychotherapy for anorexia and bulimia, with E. Del Castello and R. Esposito, Milan 2005). He is coauthor of Psychological processes in international negotiations: theoretical and practical perspectives (with M.Galluccio, New York, 2008).
Mauro Galluccio received his PhD in Political Science from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium. He is the President of the European Association for Negotiation and Mediation (EANAM), based in Brussels. Dr. Galluccio studied for a long time in Italy and has a degree in both political sciences and psychological sciences and techniques for the persons and the community. He has given many speeches, presented numerous papers and symposia at international conferences and congresses on the subject of International Relations, with a particular interest in the application of cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy principles to the field of political sciences. As lecturer on behalf of the Directorate-General Communication of the European Commission he gives conferences to many International Universities, enterprises, and national administrations from different Countries. Dr. Galluccio has worked within the European institutional framework as political analyst and adviser. He was political coordinator at the Directorate-General of the European Commission for Development and Relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific States. Previously he was Spokesman to the President of COPA and coordinator of the Crisis Management Unit at the COPA-COGECA. Among Dr. Galluccio's research interests are those on applied cognitive psychology and psychotherapy; interpersonal negotiations; specific training for negotiators and politicians; preventive diplomacy and conflict resolution; Common Foreign and Security Policy for the European Union; the European Union internal negotiation processes and institutional external communication. He is coauthor of Psychological processes in international negotiations: theoretical and practical perspectives (with F. Aquilar, New York, 2008).