The Treaty of Portsmouth, 1905 - Case Study Example

This paper provides an evaluation of the conflict, negotiation of the treaty as well as an evaluation of the suppositions and empirical evidence as provided by the relevant readings and will offer analysis of underlying dynamics of conflict along with recommendations. The Russo-Japanese War prevailed between 1904 and 1905 and was the initial major military conflict of the 20th century, which developed from the imperial aspirations of Japanese and Russian empires particularly over the territories of Manchuria along with Korea (Woodhouse et al 1-10).

The principal fronts of the confrontation were the southern part of Manchuria particularly the regions around Mukden and Liaodong peninsula as well as the sea adjacent to Korea and yellow sea. The Russian realm endeavored to obtain a warm water harbor located in the area of Pacific Ocean for purposes of the navy and commerce since Vladivostok could be used in summer seasons and was dormant on other seasons. Port Arthur on the other hand could be used throughout the year. Negotiations between the two ambitious foes had failed right from the conclusion of the initial Sino-Japanese conflict making war inevitable (Wandberge 23).

Japan resorted to war in order to become overriding in Korea. Following the failure of talks, Japan attacked the Russians soldiers stationed at Port Arthur, a position located in Liaotung that had been granted to Russian by China via lease; this marked the beginning of the war (Butler 247). It was evident that owing to the fact that the Russians were not well managed, Japan triumphed in numerous battle fronts. The outcomes of the military campaigns were a huge global surprise in the sense that the victory of Japan was unexpected and shifted the power arrangement in East Asia.

These outcomes brought Japan to the global stage as a major member of the world community. The course of negotiation at Portsmouth Peace accord has been recognized as a clear epitome of multi-track mediation. Records from the process had indicated that citizen diplomacy was prevalent at Portsmouth- residents of the area inspired the negotiators to bring peace especially during a number of social events in instances when the process was failing. This has been cited as an important pillar in diplomacy.

There are five strategies of negotiations that include contention, yielding, avoidance, problem solving and compromise (Zartman and Rasmussen 4). Contention involves the aspect of obsession with individual goals and less concern for the goals of the other party. Contention leads to confrontation, which involves threats, and restrictions along with hostility. Yielding is a situation where both parties are more concerned with the requirements of the other party and not their own, which creates a situation of pleasing each other and lessening the apprehensions.

Avoidance signifies the absence of interest in both parties. Problem solving is a concern for each party’s goals that create an opportunity to generate a solution. Compromise being the ultimate in conciliation is an endeavor that is never arrived with enthusiasm (Dana 63-66). Experts of international relations have often concentrated on power relations among nations as an imperative dynamic in a broad category of state conduct, which comprises of creating alliance and tactical interactions along with negotiations programs.

It is evident that that the power equation between Russia and Japan played a