Negotiating Across Cultures: International Communication in an Interdependent World, Revised Edition

Trade friction, disputes over illegal immigration and drug trafficking, conflicts over the sale of nuclear fuel—the headlines are full of difficult international problems. And cultural differences can play an important role in attempts to resolve these issues.

In Negotiating Across Cultures, Raymond Cohen examines the ways cultural factors have affected U.S. dealings with five increasingly significant nations: Japan, China, Egypt, India, and Mexico. He demonstrates that there are two quite different models of negotiation: "low context," a predominantly verbal and explicit style typical of individualistic societies such as the United States, and "high context," a style associated with nonverbal and implicit communication more typical of traditionally interdependent societies. He concludes the book with ten specific recommendations for the intercultural negotiator.