ABSTRACT
An issue is negotiable when parties, perceiving some possible utility in coordinating their positions, engage in cooperative exchanges in search of complementary projects. A simple illustration about denuclearization shows the difference between a negotiable issue and one that is not negotiable. Design for denuclearization, an active practice, is more than "drawing a blueprint." But as policy-makers face challenges and make choices, they also design for the episode with which they are engaged, and adjust design requirements. Nuclear weapons present both a threat and an issue to individuals and to communities: to "civil society." The nuclear states have consistently sought to shape nuclear discourse along two main lines. First, to identify nuclear weapons with their states' security. Second, through secrecy, to avoid public accountability. But assume a good-will negotiation, in which parties seek common ground if it can be found, and are open to persuasion that given outcomes are, taken as a whole, in their interest.
