breakup of the Reykjavik summit.
The operational code belief systems and the use of schema theory help to explain these
outcomes. Both leaders, through their shared goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, their mutual
belief that they could work with the other to achieve their respective goals, their mutual belief that
each could influence event outcomes, and their shared sense that the timing was right for such a
proposal, were able to behave cooperatively and reciprocate with the other until they reached the
point of eliminating nuclear weapons.
Although it is important to remember that other factors, like personality, domestic
constraints, and the international environment, may also influence the behavior of negotiators, it
appears that when operational code beliefs overlap between bargainers they are more likely to
engage in coordinative behavior. Conversely, when their operational code beliefs are divergent,
they are more likely to act competitively. Thus, the fact that Reagan and Gorbachev, who shared
a utopian goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons, were in power at the same time served to create
an environment where the elimination of nuclear weapons could be seriously proposed. There
continued to be differences between the two sides, namely SDI, which prevented the parties from
reaching their ultimate goal. The summit at Reykjavik, however, set the stage for more productive
discussions that led to accomplishments like INF and START.
Convention