As with the rest of the dirty tactics presented in this chapter, “lock-in tactics” are really just a brutish attempt to seize power over the structure of a negotiation process, and they backfire when confronted with principled negotiation. Refusing to take the lock-in tactics seriously disarms the very tactic and, in many cases, also forces the side that used them to cope with a poorer BATNA than they had before. For instance, a leader who promises a minimum to their constituents has a worse BATNA once they can no longer blame the other side for refusing to negotiate and paint the lack of agreement as a victory.