Negotiation & Conflict Resolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Negotiation & Conflict Resolution - Essay Example One recent instance of conflict and negotiation in the political world is the partial shutdown of the US government. The conflict originated from lack of consensus on political issues but wrecked not only the political but also the social and economic fabric of the US. The primary parties to this conflict were President Obama with the Democrats on one side and the Republican House of Representatives on the other side. The issue arose on October 1, 2013 during a budget discussion session in the Congress due to a disagreement over a particular healthcare reform law. The Republicans were not in favor of passing the reformed healthcare law and looked forward to a delay or repeal in the legislation. But President Obama strictly asserted that he wanted the bill to be passed clean and without any amendments or unnecessary delays. The resulting concord between the parties led the Republicans to declare a partial shutdown of the government operations in the US. This primary issue of the healt hcare reform bill further got entangled with another vital issue regarding the debt ceiling for government borrowings. Obama requested a relaxation of the debt ceiling as the deadline for the same was approaching soon, i.e. on October 17, 2013. Not extending the debt limit would lead to a fiscal impasse as the nation will be unable to repay its debts and clear its bills. This would affect not only the US economy but also the global economy and the secondary parties such as the financial agencies, stock markets, federal workers and general public. The 16-day-long impasse in the US was primarily born out of a policy deadlock over the spending bill in the government budget. President Obama had suggested the inclusion of a healthcare reform law, Affordable Care Act, which offers a range of healthcare and welfare facilities for the US citizens. But the Republican-led House of Representatives refused to pass it and showed intentions to repeal or delay it by the span of a year. They called for a House-Senate Conference Committee to resolve the matter. But the Democrats refused to this idea, saying that the House was just trying to defer the new healthcare law using the pretext of the budget process. Owing to this unresolved conflict, the House declared a partial shutdown of the government on October 1. While the Republicans insisted on a delay in the implementation of the healthcare reform, Obama remained immovable on his stance that â€Å"Obamacare† is non-negotiable and that he wanted a â€Å"clean bill† devoid of any conditions or amendments. (CNBC, 2013) This shutdown very soon raised an alarm amongst the secondary parties to the conflict. Wall Street officials expressed their concern over the present shutdown and the future prospect of a financial default. The US government was fast approaching its debt ceiling of $ 16.7 trillion which it was about to hit on October 17 (Jackson, 2013). James Clapper, Director of the US National Intelligence, shared with the media his grave fears regarding the severe impact of the shutdown on their ability â€Å"to support the military, to support diplomacy, and to support the policymakers.† (Cornwell, 2013). Owing to the shutdown, 70% of the federal intelligence personnel had been sent on unpaid leave. Lloyd Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of the Goldman Sachs Group, apprehended over the aligned and perhaps more critical issue of a financial default arising from the shutdown. Saying that America had seen a precedent