How can you address food justice and food sovereignty in conflict negotiations?

2 Build trust and rapport

One of the key elements of successful negotiation is trust and rapport. Without trust, parties are less likely to cooperate, communicate, and compromise. Without rapport, parties are less likely to empathize, understand, and respect each other. To build trust and rapport, you need to establish credibility, reliability, and honesty. You also need to show respect, empathy, and curiosity. You can do this by listening actively, acknowledging emotions, asking open-ended questions, expressing appreciation, and finding common ground.

3 Use interest-based negotiation

Interest-based negotiation is a method that focuses on the underlying interests, needs, and values of the parties, rather than their positions or demands. By identifying and addressing the interests of the parties, you can create more options, generate more value, and foster more collaboration. To use interest-based negotiation, you need to separate the people from the problem, focus on interests rather than positions, invent options for mutual gain, and use objective criteria to evaluate options.

4 Apply a food justice and food sovereignty lens

To address food justice and food sovereignty in conflict negotiations, you need to apply a lens that considers the social, economic, and environmental dimensions of the food system. You need to recognize the diversity and complexity of food cultures, practices, and preferences. You need to acknowledge the power imbalances and inequalities that affect food access, distribution, and decision-making. You need to support the participation and empowerment of marginalized and oppressed communities in the food system. And you need to promote the sustainability and resilience of local and agroecological food systems.

5 Seek win-win outcomes

The goal of conflict negotiation is not to win or lose, but to find mutually beneficial outcomes that satisfy the interests of all parties. To seek win-win outcomes, you need to avoid zero-sum thinking, where one party's gain is another party's loss. Instead, you need to adopt a positive-sum thinking, where parties can create more value by cooperating and sharing resources. You also need to avoid compromising, where parties give up something to reach an agreement. Instead, you need to pursue integrating, where parties find creative and innovative ways to meet their interests.

6 Evaluate and follow up

After you reach an agreement, you need to evaluate and follow up on the results. You need to review the agreement and make sure that it is clear, realistic, and fair. You need to monitor the implementation and compliance of the agreement and address any issues or challenges that arise. You also need to maintain and strengthen the relationship and trust between the parties and celebrate the achievements and learnings from the negotiation.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?