I admit that in the past I kept thinking of people in government as actively malicious. It's only now that I'm starting to see the other end of my prejudice: they're just humans doing what works in a broken system.
In any case, this book explains how governments negotiate amongst one another: the why and how of it is given plenty of detail, and it's a meaty work with great writing and splendid content. I was quite interested in the theory of decision-making and how there's only several ways things get done in human interaction, 5 to be exact.
The idea of mutually harmful stalemates (among negotiators on equal footing), counter-concessions and similar tips and tricks were the blasts of flavour that made this drab academic work sweeter and more completer. Definitely read.
9/10