Upon completion of class you should be able to…
1. Explain concepts related to grassroots diplomacy
2. Discuss the importance of grassroots diplomacy for social entrepreneurs
3. Develop your personal philosophy of international engagement
Concepts and Definitions
1. Saving Face (Check out the links to the examples too)
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/facesavr.htm
2. Consensus Building
http://www.colorado.edu/conflict/peace/treatment/consens.htm
http://web.mit.edu/publicdisputes/practice/cbh_ch1.html
http://www.beyondintractability.org/essay/consensus_building/
3. Satyagraha
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyagraha
4. Gandhigiri
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandhigiri
Pre-Class Activities
Required Materials
1. Read: Saving Face Example:
The 1971 U.S.-Japan Monetary Crisis
Symbolic acts can play an important role in bringing negotiations to a close. In 1971 the U.S. was trying to persuade a reluctant Japan to revalue its currency in order to redress a significant balance-of-payments problem. U.S. negotiators demanded a 17-percent upward revaluation of the yen. The Japanese Finance Minister feigned illness and canceled his meeting with the American Secretary of the Treasury in order to avoid being forced into making concessions.
Treasury Secretary Connally met instead with Deputy Minister Kashiwagi. Kashiwagi stated that seventeen percent was an unacceptable figure. He explained that in 1932 a Finance Minister had been forced to commit suicide (actually, he had been assassinated) after agreeing to a seventeen percent revaluation. Connally promptly proposed a 16.9-percent revaluation, which Kashiwagi accepted. “By proposing a substantially insignificant but symbolically crucial concession, the U.S. Treasury secretary had saved the honor of his counterpart,” and made it possible for the Japanese to agree.
* “Symbolic Acts,” Selection from: Raymond Cohen, Negotiating Across Cultures: Communication Obstacles in International Diplomacy, (Washington, D.C.: United States Institute of Peace Press, 1991), pp. 133.This summary was written by: Tanya Glaser, Conflict Research Consortium and is taken from here
2. Watch Video: Please watch the acclaimed Bollywood movie Lage Raho Munna Bhai The movie on Google Videos does not have the subtitles synched up with the movie, making it somewhat difficult to watch. The DVD will be made available to students interested in seeing the movie on Mon/Tue/Wed evening. I really want you to understand the context & the various challenges identified in the movie and how Munna addresses those challenges. Make an honest attempt to understand the movie and the dynamics, especially those referring to Gandhigiri! Please sit with a paper and pen and make a list of the lessons learned from the movie.
Case Study
Jack is an American student who lived at a youth center in Kenya while working on a social venture. In this role, he lived and interacted with the children at the center and worked closely with the staff. One Saturday evening, kids under the age of 14 years were to receive presents that were sent by an international donor organization. A staff member at the youth center had picked up all the gifts the previous weekend and they were finally going to be distributed this Saturday. When it came time to give the gifts out after dinner, the staff members called Jack up to the front – as he was a guest – to assist in the gift-giving ceremony. The staff members had allocated the gifts for the children and labeled them – Jack’s job was to hand out the gifts to the kids. The only problem was that four children did not receive gifts and the staff members did not appear to be concerned about the four forgotten children. As kids began leaving the hall, they thanked Jack for the gifts. The kids were convinced that Jack had gotten the gifts for them. Jack felt a little awkward but at the same time reflected that a good relationship with the kids would help him in several ways during his five-month stay at the center.
At the bottom of the boxes containing the gifts, there were a few black hats. The kids that did not get a present were brought over to the box and given a hat. However, they were upset about the fact that they were not given the hat as ceremoniously as the other kids. The staff gave them their hat and shooed them on their way as if they had some fault in this situation. As one of the little boys who did not receive a gift left the hall, he walked past Jack holding his black hat, and gave him a stare, that clearly indicated that he blamed Jack for not receiving a gift. Jack met with the staff and discussed how the four kids were very upset and felt ‘left out’ after the incident. The staff did not acknowledge the problem and were a little piqued that they were being blamed for such a trivial matter. They were convinced that Jack was making a big deal out of the situation and were concerned that Jack would become a “childrens rights activist” and create unnecessary problems for them. The only response they gave Jack was – “If you think there is a problem then you go ahead and solve it.”
If you were Jack, how would you proceed?
Points to Ponder
- What does “saving face” mean? Can you think of instances in your life where face-saving has come into play?
- Have you observed instances of “satyagraha” in your life?
- What sort of decisions involving your friends do you make by reaching consensus?
Bring to Class
- Five (5) lessons learned from the movie & the concept of Gandhigiri
- Print out the Grassroots Diplomacy methodology and fill it out with your initial thoughts on the case study (follow the template