Three Predictions - Iran, China, Russia. Saturday’s Core Brief.
Three cultural dimensions in diplomacy. Series 24 #4
Three diplomatic negotiations are active in May 2026: the Iran nuclear talks, the U.S.-China tariff negotiations, and the Russia-Ukraine settlement track. None of them will produce a comprehensive deal.
The reason in each case is the same cultural mismatch that we examined this week. Western dignity culture builds diplomacy on public pressure. To honor and face cultures, that’s what ends cooperation. Until Western diplomacy can negotiate without requiring its counterparts to publicly accept defeat, deals with non-dignity cultures will continue to fail.
