Open AccessLanguage Games: Dialogical Analysis of INF Negotiations
Author(s) -
Duffy Gavan,
Frederking Brian K.,
Tucker Seth
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
international studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.897
H-Index - 100
eISSN - 1468-2478
pISSN - 0020-8833
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2478.00082
Subject(s) - dialogical self , negotiation , dilemma , context (archaeology) , pragmatics , argumentative , sociology , epistemology , political science , linguistics , law and economics , law , philosophy , paleontology , biology
This essay proposes dialogical analysis as a method of modeling political interactions. The method combines the formal theory of dialogical disputation, a family of theories drawn from linguistic pragmatics, and formal proof procedures. By analyzing models of their explicit and implicit contents in context, the method identifies the argumentative thrust of negotiation dialogues and shows systematically how the parties signal intent and commitment to one another. The paper illustrates the method by applying it to superpower interactions in the 1980s INF negotiations. The analysis indicates that American force deployments did not motivate the Soviet retreat from their early insistence on compensation for European missiles. The change in the Soviet position is better attributed to their strategic reconceptualization of the Cold War insecurity dilemma.