Abstract

On 16 December 2011, the Russian Federation signed the protocol of accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), marking the end of a long and complex negotiation process. At the end of 2010, Switzerland had agreed to facilitate the accession of the Russian Federation to the WTO by mediating an agreement between Georgia and the Russian Federation over customs procedures for trade to and from the disputed territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. In its role as facilitator, Switzerland used a process-based approach, narrowing gaps, seeking convergences, organizing formal and informal consultations in flexible and different formats, using technical knowledge and producing draft texts for decision-making. This process-based approach, which was developed within the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and aimed at establishing new channels of communication and negotiating techniques, was baptized ‘diplomatic engineering’. Diplomatic engineering splits a complex negotiation problem into sub-problems that can be solved individually and irrespective of geopolitical and trade policy considerations. It de-politicizes them by focusing on the technical aspects of a dispute, thus creating space for a rational dialogue. While the Swiss mediation between Georgia and the Russian Federation remains little known by the public, important lessons for future accession negotiations can be drawn from this case study. In particular, the diplomatic engineering approach can be used by the WTO to underline its role as a convener, negotiating platform, hub of technical expertise and honest broker.