The Role of Business Negotiation in IR — William Baber

22. 12. 2024

This episode of The IR thinker examines how corporations exercise economic power in foreign policy and trade negotiations with Professor Will Baber, focusing on the ways firms shape state preferences, exploit power asymmetries and act as de facto diplomatic actors. The conversation explores the role of state-owned enterprises, corporate engagement with international regulatory frameworks and forums such as the WTO, and how commercial interests influence the content and quality of free trade agreements and broader questions of sovereignty and “economic imperialism”. 

It also highlights practical research methodologies and the value of learning from negative or failed negotiation cases, offering a rich, interdisciplinary perspective on contemporary negotiation dynamics.

William W. Baber

William W. Baber is Professor at the Graduate School of Management at Kyoto University in Japan, where he teaches negotiation, cross-cultural management and management communication. He has combined academic work with practical experience in economic development for the State of Maryland, language services in the Washington, DC area, and supporting business start-ups in Japan, and has taught business students in Japan, Europe and Canada. His interdisciplinary background informs a distinctive approach to understanding how corporate and governmental actors interact and bargain in an increasingly complex global economy.

Publications:

Space Business: Emerging Theory and Practice

Confirming the Impact of Training on Negotiators and Organizations

Identifying Macro Phases Across the Negotiation Lifecycle

Content

00:00 - Introduction
02:29 - Corporate Economic Leverage in Foreign Policy
05:10 - Identifying and Originating Corporate Negotiation Power
08:59 - Corporate Influence on Trade Policies and State Sovereignty
13:37 - Trends and Quality in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
15:06 - Power Asymmetries in Strategic Negotiations
20:20 - Corporate Actors as De Facto Diplomats
25:07 - State-Owned Enterprises in Negotiations
28:06 - Overseas Impact of State-Owned Enterprises
30:55 - Corporations and International Regulatory Frameworks
34:23 - Economic Imperialism in Negotiations
36:56 - Company-Government Conflicts in Negotiations
39:59 - Unveiling Corporate Influence in Forums like the WTO
44:33 - Tips for Research Methodologies
45:38 - Learning from Negative Case Studies in Negotiations
51:02 - Future Directions for Interdisciplinary Research in Negotiations