GRIT

GRIT (Abbreviation for Graduated and Reciprocated Initiatives in Tension Reduction ) is a psychologically based strategy for de-escalating international conflicts . The American psychologist Charles E. Osgood suggested it at the height of the Cold War in 1962. GRIT begins with a one-sided de-escalating act that is precisely coordinated to maintain sufficient security and dignity, with clear verbal messages and the invitation to the opponent to act in the same way. In contrast to the usual negotiation, practical de-escalation should also be carried out if the opponent does not answer or does not commit himself to anything. Even if it is initially unsuccessful, the initiative is to be continued in small steps over a long period of time and consistently conveyed to the public as a consistent policy.

Through small reciprocal gestures of reconciliation, the parties involved in the conflict should be relieved of the fear that their signs of confidence will be misinterpreted or even misused by the other side. In a kind of reverse (reciprocal) escalation spiral , increasing mutual trust is to be created.

Osgood said that the actions carried out must go far enough on the one hand to be recognized as useful by the opponent, and on the other hand must not endanger one's own safety. Their type and sequence should also not be predictable. If negative actions become necessary, they should not be threats of sanctions, but rather immediate, clear and verifiable acts.

Osgood's publications were read in the US administration under President Kennedy and are said to have significantly influenced his policy, in particular the partial nuclear test ban of 1963.

method

A party initiates a series of preliminary measures to de-escalate an already existing conflict by

publicly declared the intention to unilaterally reduce tension
takes an action and invites the other party to do the same
makes the next positive / reconciling gesture, even if the other party remains inactive
if the counterparty reacts aggressively , initiates a publicly announced, highly limited retaliation without undoing the other measures
then announces and carries out the next relaxing measure

literature

Berthold Meyer: Conflict Regulation and Peace Strategies: An Introduction . Springer DE, 2011, ISBN 978-3-531-92789-3 , pp. 81-4.
Greg Cashman: What Causes War ?: An Introduction to Theories of International Conflict . Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, July 29, 2013, ISBN 978-0-7425-6652-1 , pp. 313-4.

Individual evidence

^ Charles E. Osgood: Reciprocal Initiative. In: James Roosevelt (Ed.): The Liberal Papers. Anchor Books, Garden City, NY 1962, pp. 155-228.
^ Charles E. Osgood: An Alternative To War Or Surrender. University of Illinois Press, Urbana 1962.
^ George Bunn: Arms Control by Committee: Managing Negotiations With the Russians . Stanford University Press, Jan. 1, 1992, ISBN 978-0-8047-6592-3 , p. 277.
^ Paul Erickson, Judy L. Klein, Lorraine Daston, How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind: The Strange Career of Cold War Rationality . University of Chicago Press, November 22, 2013, ISBN 978-0-226-04677-8 , p. 98.

[1] Charles E. Osgood: Reciprocal Initiative. In: James Roosevelt (Ed.): The Liberal Papers. Anchor Books, Garden City, NY 1962, pp. 155-228.

[2] Charles E. Osgood: An Alternative To War Or Surrender. University of Illinois Press, Urbana 1962.

[Bunn1992-3] George Bunn: Arms Control by Committee: Managing Negotiations With the Russians . Stanford University Press, Jan. 1, 1992, ISBN 978-0-8047-6592-3 , p. 277.

[EricksonKlein2013-4] Paul Erickson, Judy L. Klein, Lorraine Daston, How Reason Almost Lost Its Mind: The Strange Career of Cold War Rationality . University of Chicago Press, November 22, 2013, ISBN 978-0-226-04677-8 , p. 98.