ABSTRACT
This chapter presents a conceptual model of the dynamics of the negotiation process as it has operated in city-county boundary disputes in Virginia. The great paradox of the mediation role is that, even though negotiations are universally considered to be highly rational, they are driven by nonrational dynamics. Emotional factors frequently form the baseline along which negotiations proceed. The conscious formation of a negotiational position starts with the structure of the external situation as perceived by the attorneys, professional staff, and politicians. The limits of appropriateness, however, dictate that the most the mediator can legitimately do is work at the surface of the negotiations—at the level of intergroup dynamics and with individuals. Mediators can be most active at the surface level of negotiations—the interpersonal communication events that constitute the negotiation dynamics that lead to Position IV, the position actually communicated to the other team as the talks proceed.
