Description
In a complex diplomatic world, unofficial Track II initiatives often operate in the absence of or alongside official Track I processes. Some Track II initiatives seek to influence the official Track I level. But how does a Track II initiative become a Track I process? This article proposes a new potential mechanism involving the transfer of perceptions of trustworthiness – trustworthiness transfer – from Track II participants to Track I officials. This mechanism is developed by testing a series of hypotheses: 1) individual dispositions to trust; 2) interpersonal trust; and 3) the role of entrepreneurial actors. These three hypotheses are tested against a single historical case study of the 1992-1993 Oslo Channel, which began as a Track II initiative before developing into a Track I process. Using available English-language discursive materials supported by elite interviews, the development of perceptions of trustworthiness at the Track II level and their transfer of to the Track I level can tracked through process-tracing. The article argues that trustworthiness transfer takes place through the interplay of three parts: first, a Track I decision-maker’s disposition to trust; second, pre-existing interpersonal trust between the Track II participants and Track I decision-makers; and third, the entrepreneurial activities of Track II participants.
