Truth 29Logrolling (I scratch your back, you scratch mine)

Logrolling is making mutually beneficial trade-offs between the issues on the table.

The term logrolling is derived from political science, where it describes how one party might support another's bill or legislation in return for reciprocal support. In that domain, logrolling has a slightly sleazy connotation. In negotiation, logrolling is smart, not sleazy.

To logroll effectively, negotiators must do the following.

  • Identify more than one issue under negotiation. (Otherwise, there is no possibility for trade-offs.)
  • Have different preferences concerning the issues.
  • Be able to mix-and-match different alternatives for each issue.

If a negotiator is positional or demanding, logrolling ...

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