Negotiators bargain abroad and at home at once, and a constrained domestic position can be a bargaining asset.
Putnam's 1988 framework. A negotiator who can credibly say their legislature will not ratify holds an advantage, which is why constrained governments sometimes extract better terms than unconstrained ones.
In practice
- A trade negotiator returns from the table saying the deal is good and his parliament will not pass it, and both statements are working for him.
- A manager who can point to a policy they cannot override extracts terms that a manager with full discretion cannot.
- Subject
- Law & Politics
- Essay
- Competing accounts of how power works