Trade negotiations: teaching consensus

International negotiations, particularly in international organisations with a large number of members, can be long and fraught. Reaching consensus between a large number of countries is not an easy task and this point is often ignored in news reports relating to international negotiations. This article argues that when teaching students about the conduct of international negotiations, their understanding can be greatly enhanced by the use of active learning techniques such as role playing, simulations and games. However, much of the literature describes simulations which take time to prepare and are often run over several hours or days. This article argues that we need to develop shorter, seminar length simulations which students can relate to in order to help their understanding of the issues and processes around negotiations. Highlighting the consensus process in the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and drawing on experience of teaching students about the WTO, this article elaborates a seminar length exercise which can be used to illustrate some of the negotiation processes in the WTO while at the same time teaching students about the process and difficulties of consensus building with a familiar scenario.