There are many miracles. But the greatest among them is a child. A miracle of miracles. Every encounter with a child is an immersion into a world of wonders, with all its fantastical, realistic, and less realistic elements.
Miracle of Miracles
Strategic Thinking in Action
Yesterday, I was honored to conduct a “Strategic Thinking in Action” workshop for participants of the Young Professional Internships Program (YPIP) at American Councils for International Education in Tashkent.
The session covered practical frameworks for strategic analysis, decision-making processes, and interaction. Participants demonstrated strong engagement through active discussions and interactive games. Well done.
#StrategicThinking #ProfessionalDevelopment #YPIP #AmericanCouncils #Tashkent #Leadership #Mentoring #Uzbekistan #YoungProfessionals
Teaching
Excited to teach this fall semester at two leading universities in Uzbekistan: “Strategic Thinking and Interaction” at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy (UWED) and “Issues in International Relations – Negotiation and Persuasion” at Webster University in Tashkent (WUT).
I hope that students will gain not only important theoretical knowledge, but also useful practical skills.
#InternationalRelations #Negotiation #Persuasion #StrategicThinking #Uzbekistan #Academia #Teaching
Bazaar and Bargaining Culture
There is an Uzbek saying: “Your father is the bazaar, your mother is the bazaar.” That is a foundational insight to our #bargaining culture. Bazaars are more than commercial spaces, and bargaining becomes about establishing connection, mutual respect, and fairness.
Working or not?
If looking for work is your work, are you working or out of work?
Optimal Motivation
Often it is motivation, rather than brain, knowledge, experience, abilities, or skills, that determines a person’s fate and defines their success or failure in endeavors. Motivation is like blood in the body, or air in the lungs. But even it must be optimal—neither too weak nor excessive. Like everything else in life. Optimal motivation is like a fire in a fireplace—strong enough to warm and illuminate the path, but controlled so as not to burn down the house. It provides energy to move forward while preserving the ability to reflect and adjust course.
Point and Circle: A Philosophical Reflection
Point and Circle: A Philosophical Reflection
The point and the circle represent some of the most ancient and fundamental symbols. Both are closed objects. But if the point is a “thing in itself,” then the circle can prove to be universal. The point, expanding, becomes a circle, and the circle, contracting, transforms into a point.
The point, properly speaking, is an abstraction, since it has no parameters of magnitude. But without volume, without area, and without length, it fills all volumes, areas, and lengths. In other words, being nothing, the point creates all objects existing in the world. The point is the material of creation, the fabric of all forms. The number of points would express the largest number in the universe. But the universe itself is also a kind of point in some super-universe.
If, expanding, each point is capable of becoming a circle, this means that potentially the number of points and circles can be equal. At the same time, each circle consists of an infinite number of points, which, in turn, can transform into circles.
But not every point is destined to become a circle: a circle has neither end nor beginning. A circle begins and does not begin with a point. Being woven from points, it is also independent of them.
The point and circle are whole and harmonious. The point has hidden harmony, the circle has open harmony. But the circle is not an open object, therefore it can prove to be not only sacred or magical, but also vicious. Everything depends on the points that form the circle.
Every human being is a point in the universe, but each human being has their own circles.
Theory vs. Practice: The Paradox of Professional Knowledge
Theory vs. Practice: The Paradox of Professional Knowledge
Negotiation
Many outstanding negotiators in business, diplomacy, and politics have never read negotiation books or attended training sessions. Yet they excel at what they do.
Their effectiveness comes from completely different sources: deep understanding of human psychology, the ability to read situations and instantly adapt, an intuitive sense of timing and context, and years of accumulated experience, including mistakes.
Meanwhile, theorists try to break down this living art into schemes, models, and step-by-step algorithms. It’s like trying to teach someone to dance by studying an anatomy textbook.
International Relations
The gap between theory and practice is even more noticeable in the field of international relations. A large portion of academic literature in IR has little to offer to actual practitioners, even those who would like to learn from it.
A diplomat who has spent decades working in real-world diplomacy knows more about decision-making mechanisms than any theoretical model can describe. They understand that decisions are made by people – with their ambitions, fears, and personal relationships – not by merely abstract entities called “states” pursuing more or less stable national interests. True masters of practice create their own “theories” on the fly, adapting to the uniqueness of each situation.
But Theory Still Matters
Even so, theories and theorists play an important role. They help structure the thinking of beginners and provide basic frameworks for understanding complex processes. They create a shared language that allows practitioners from different fields to exchange experiences. They systematize knowledge and make it transferable to future generations. They raise new questions and push practitioners to reflect on their actions. They also provide academic legitimacy for training and education.
As some physicists have said, “There is nothing more practical than a good theory.”
Hopefully, someday we’ll be able to say the same about negotiation and international relations.
A Point of No Return
Every point is a point of no return. Is it worth looking back?
Tai Chi and Chinese Negotiation Behavior: My New Chapter
The publication of an author’s work is always a big and exciting event for him or her. But there are publications that an author awaits especially eagerly. Today I received just such a publication in the mail: the book “China’s Negotiating Mindset and Strategies: Historical and Cultural Foundations” edited by renowned scholars Guy Olivier Faure and I. William Zartman (London and New York: Routledge, 2025). The book also contains a chapter written by me, “Tai Chi and Chinese Negotiation Behavior” (pp. 69-82), of which I am quite proud.
This chapter is the result of my many years of practice and reflection. I want to sincerely thank Professors Olivier Faure and William Zartman for the invitation to contribute to this important book.
Alisher Faizullaev 