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Besides applying bluffs on people, one must be ready to handle them when they
are applied on oneself. In such a situation Fuller (1992:179) suggests that you "either
immediately challenge them and see what happens, or simply ignore them and force the
other side to retreat." Ifthe other side does not react, then it was a real bluff.
However, before one tests whether it is a real bluff or not, one must verifY
whether the opponent would experience problems if the deal does not succeed, or
whether they have alternatives. Then you must observe the "personal make-up of the
other negotiator" If he appears irritable and emotional then he might carry out the
threat. The mere fact that the opponent came to negotiate means he wants to strike a
deal. So ifhe makes an unreasonable threat, you can ignore it. But ifthe threat turns out
to be real and the negotiation does not succeed, it is still to your advantage.
Making concessions "piece by piece" / Incrementalism
The constructive approach to intractable conflicts says it is important to separate
negotiable from non-negotiable issues and to resolve as many of the negotiable issues
as possible. This helps to improve the situation even ifthe whole conflict has not been
resolved. This is also called incrementalism. So agreement can be reached by
negotiating a package at one go, or by conceding little by little. Both these approaches
have their advantages and disadvantages. In June 1990 when De Klerk released 48
prisoners prior to his departure for Europe he was expecting Mr Mandela to make some
concessions and renounce the armed struggle. At the same time the release ofpolitical
prisoners was used by the government to secure concessions from the ANC. Savage
(2000:3) says the release of the 48 prisoners referred to in the previous paragraph was
described by the government "as a gesture of sincerity" and "good faith" The reality
was, however, that the National Party was trying to gain the credibility of its
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