Interdisciplinary Nature of Intercultural Communication

As students of international affairs, we often view intercultural communication as a given, a natural byproduct of our interaction with other cultures. In our study of diplomacy, we often analyze government structures and histories and key players, and believe that this study alone will connote cultural expertise. We study and apply Western theories and Western models to any issue, and analyze them from within that paradigm. This is a mistake. Today I participated in several sessions that helped expand my purview of intercultural communication.

While in graduate school, I took a course in negotiation skills utilizing the “Getting to Yes” framework made famous by Fisher at Harvard University. The model worked remarkably well within our class of primarily American students, but after today’s session on “Mastering the Art of Negotiation in the Military: Soft Power Skills in a Hard Power Culture,” I realized that this model of interest-based negotiation is limited in scope. It works primarily in a Western business model, without addressing underlying procedural, psychological, or substantive interests. And depending on the organizational culture, or the high or low context of a given culture, and how relationship-based they are, the whole idea of separating the people from the problem may be completely counter-cultural, contrary to the Fisher model.

In the next session, we looked at cross-cultural skills from a business perspective, considering the value added that intercultural competency has for competitive advantage, particularly for multinational enterprises. In another session, we even examined cultural awareness within health and emergency responses. In each case today, even though the sessions were less action-oriented, and less policy-driven than I’m used to, they provided an interesting look at the interdisciplinary nature of cross-cultural awareness, and the ways in which we as professionals can share best practices across professions.

Of course, the best part of the day was getting to meet the other EDF scholars and IMI conference participants, as it’s always refreshing to find a kindred spirit. (One doesn’t often find arrogance in someone that cares about cross-cultural awareness and communication. This lack of pretention can be refreshing… especially in DC…) Thanks IMI- I wish I could stay for the second day of the conference, but I’m off for Spring Break in Colombia, where I plan to put these lessons learned to the test!

Brooke