Negotiation lies at the core of preventive diplomacy. This study approaches preventive diplomacy by issue areas: it looks at the way preventive negotiation has been practiced, notes its characteristics, and then suggests how lessons can be transferred from one area to another.

Negotiation lies at the core of preventive diplomacy. This study is unusual in approaching preventive diplomacy by issue areas: it looks at the way in which preventive negotiation has been practiced, notes its characteristics, and then suggests how lessons can be transferred from one area to another, but only when particular conditions warrant such a transfer.