Why Hasn't the World Gotten to Yes? An Appreciation and Some Reflections

Abstract

This is a review essay on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the publication of Roger Fisher, William Ury and Bruce Patton's, Getting to Yes, which reviews the interdisciplinary field of Negotiation and how it came to be, as well as where it is heading. The review focuses on constituent questions, constituent disciplines, the legacy of GTY on theory, practice and pedagogy and discusses the issue of why more of the world's actors and institutions have not employed more integrative, problem-solving and peace seeking approaches to conflicts at all levels. It also reports, more optimistically, on the enormous contributions GTY and its progeny have made to how some people approach each other in resolving disputes and negotiating new transactions and relationships. This is a short synthesis and intellectual history of the protean interdisciplinary field of negotiation.