George Mason University. Libraries. Special Collections Research Center
Special Collections & ArchivesFenwick Library (2FL)
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia 22030-4444
USA
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Email: speccoll@gmu.edu
URL: http://www.gmu.edu/library/specialcollections
February 22, 2017
Finding aid prepared by Amanda Brent
Administrative Information
Use Restrictions
There are no restrictions on personal use. Permission to publish material from the Harold Saunders papers must be obtained from Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Access Restrictions
There are no access restrictions.
Alternate Format Available
Digital versions are available from box 4, folders 1-23, and Box 5, folders 1-14, 16-19, 21-24, and 27-28.
Preferred Citation
Harold Saunders papers, C0259, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.
Acquisition Information
Donated by Harold Saunders in 2015.
Processing Information
Collection processed by Amanda Brent in 2017. EAD markup completed by Amanda Brent in 2017.
Biographical Information
Harold Henry "Hal" Saunders, born in Philadelphia, PA, was founder and Chairman of the International Institute for Sustained Dialogue (IISD) and Director of International Affairs at the Kettering Foundation. For twenty years he worked at the National Security Council (NSC) Staff in the White House (1961 - 1974) and the State Department (1974 - 1981), serving as the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research (1975 - 1978) and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs (1978 - 1981.) Saunders was at the center of U.S. policy making in the Middle East and South Asia, and played major roles in the Camp David Accords and the Iran Hostage Crisis. After leaving his government career in 1981, he developed and practiced the process of Sustained Dialogue, a "public peace process" to transform racial and ethnic conflicts. Saunders was a graduate of both Princeton and Yale Universities, and was a veteran of the United States Air Force. Saunders passed away in 2016.
Scope and Content
The Harold Saunders papers consists largely of speeches, meeting transcripts, news clippings, photographs, and approximately 150 pocket notebooks that he carried with him that include insights from conversations and other experiences that were important to him. The most unique document is a declassified copy of the key pages of a memo he co-authored with his close colleague Ambassador Alfred LeRoy "Roy" Atherton for Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to send to President Jimmy Carter to begin his preparatory reading for the summit with Egyptian President Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem being held at Camp David in September 1978.
The most revealing sections are those focused on how Carter might have proceeded in bringing Sadat and begin the human dialogue planned for Camp David. There are also professional files including speeches and congressional testimony from 1976 to 1983, materials on the Iran Hostage Crisis in 1979, chapters for an unpublished book on presidential decision-making toward the Middle East, and speeches from 1974-1983. The collection also includes substantial documentation of international meetings, such as 37 analytical memos written after each meeting of the Inter-Tajik Dialogue (1993-2005) which was conducted by three Russian and three American members of the Dartmouth Conference Task Force on Regional Conflicts. Documentation on other meetings include records of twelve meetings over five years of a sustained dialogue involving participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Nagorno-Karabakh. This includes records of what was called the Arab-American-European Dialogue, which included five senior Americans government officials, five senior European government officials, and a dozen political reformers from the Arab Islamic heartland (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Palestine, Iraq, and Egypt). The question of Western democracy and Islam's compatibility was the main focus during this dialogue. Also included are records of a dialogue among Iraqis across the political spectrum on national reconciliation, as well as near verbatim transcripts of meetings of the Dartmouth Conference Regional Conflicts Task Force and - its successor since 2008 - the Task Force on the Russian-U.S. Relationship which began in 1982.
Series 1: Government Career (1930s - 1985) documents Saunders' government career during the 1970s and 1980s, which includes speeches, memoranda, photos, newspaper clippings, and other documents from his tenure on the National Security Council and as a high-ranking official in the White House during multiple presidential administrations. Topics range from the Camp David Accords, the Iran Hostage Crisis, to Saunders thoughts, opinions, experiences, and actions as an American diplomat.
Series 2: Dartmouth Conference, Peace Dialogues, and Post-Government Career (1970s - 2014) documents Saunders involvement in numerous peace dialogues and experiences after his government career, and is divided into four subseries. Subseries 2.1: Dartmouth Conference, which includes multiple documents on the annual peace dialogue conference. Subseries 2.2: Peace Dialogues - Tajikistan, which includes multiple documents on Saunders involvement in the Inter-Tajik Dialogues. Subseries 2.3: Peace Dialogues - Other, which includes documents on Saunders involvement in other peace dialogues, most notably on the Middle East. Subseries 2.4: Post-Government Career Work, includes documents and reflections from Saunders on his work after his career in government.
Series 3: Notebooks, Media, and Miscellaneous (1970s - 2000) includes multiple notebooks and recordings on cassette tape on experiences during and after his career in government. Most notable are his plethora of notebooks created during and after both the Camp David Accords and the Iran Hostage Crisis.
Arrangement
Series 1: Government Career, 1930s - 1986 (Boxes 1 - 8) Series 2: Dartmouth Conference, Peace Dialogues, and Post-Government Career, 1970s - 2014 (Boxes 8 - 30) Series 3: Notebooks, Media, and Miscellaneous, 1970s - 2000 (Boxes 30 - 40)Related Material
Special Collections Research Center holds several other notable collections on conflict analysis and resolution including the Louise Diamond papers,the James Laue papers, and the John Burton papers. The Kettering Foundation archives also holds Harold Saunders Material.
Index Terms
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Kissinger, Henry, 1923-
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
- Saunders, Harold H.
- Camp David (Md.)
- Iran.
- Iraq.
- Middle East.
- Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan).
- Tajikistan.
- Conflict management.
- Dartmouth Conference. Dartmouth Conference task forces
- Foreign policy
- Iran Hostage Crisis, 1979-1981.
- Islam.
- Peacemaking
Persons:
Geographical Names:
Subjects:
Significant Persons Associated With the Collection
- Carter, Jimmy, 1924-
- Kissinger, Henry, 1923-
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994
- Saunders, Harold H.
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Camp David (Md.)
- Iran.
- Iraq.
- Middle East.
- Nagorno-Karabakh (Azerbaijan).
- Tajikistan.
Contents List
This series documents Saunders' extensive government career.
- Box: 1
Folder: 1
Documents on President Kennedy - Part 1,circa 1930s - 1980s
- Box: 1
Folder: 2
Documents on President Kennedy - Part 2,circa 1930s - 1980s
- Box: 1
Folder: 3
Military Service USAF Documents and Photographs,1956 - 1959
- Box: 1
Folder: 4
Documents on President Johnson,circa 1960s
- Box: 1
Folder: 5
Documents and Photographs from President Kennedy's National Security Council staff, featuring National Security Advisor George Bundy,circa 1960s
- Box: 1
Folder: 6
"Pres. Kennedy conversation with Golda Meir" Notes,December 27, 1962
- Box: 1
Folder: 7
Documents on Walt Rostow's NSC Staff and Middle East Conflicts,1966 - 1967
- Box: 1
Folder: 8
Papers of Personal Interest to Saunders - Part 1,1967 - 1983
- Box: 1
Folder: 9
Papers of Personal Interest to Saunders - Part 2,1967 - 1983
- Box: 1
Folder: 10
Documents on Nixon's Travels Abroad with NSC Staff,1969 - 1972
- Box: 1
Folder: 11
Documents and Photos on Henry Kissinger's "Secret Trip to Beijing" ,1971
- Box: 2
Folder: 1
Documents on Lyndon B. Johnson's NSC Staff - Includes a Letter of Condolence to Saunders on the passing of his wife from Lady Bird Johnson,1972 - 1973
- Box: 2
Folder: 2
Photos of Secret Meeting between Henry Kissinger and Hafez Ismail in Armonte, NY,February 1973
- Box: 2
Folder: 3
Documents and Photographs on Arab - Israeli War,1973 - 1974
- Box: 2
Folder: 4
Documents and Photographs on Events Leading Up to Nixon's Visit to Middle East,1974
- Box: 2
Folder: 5
Saunders' Passes to Various Countries as Member of Kissinger's Team during the Ford Administration,1974 - 1975
- Box: 2
Folder: 6
Documents and Photographs on "Second Sinai Agreement",1974 - 1975
- Box: 2
Folder: 7
"The Saunders Document",1975
- Box: 2
Folder: 8
Documents and Photographs on Saunders' appointment to Director of the Bureau of Intelligence and Research,1975
- Box: 2
Folder: 9
Speeches,1975
- Box: 2
Folder: 10
Briefing Memoranda on "Congressional Testimony on the Palestinians",November 10, 1975
- Box: 2
Folder: 11
Speeches ,1976
- Box: 2
Folder: 12
Documents on President Carter,circa 1977
- Box: 2
Folder: 13
Documents and Photographs on Beginning of Carter Administration,1977 - 1978
- Box: 2
Folder: 14
Copy of Memo of Camp David Preparations,1978, 2014
- Box: 2
Folder: 15
Speeches - Part 1,1978
- Box: 2
Folder: 16
Speeches - Part 2,1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 1
Speeches - Part 1,1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 2
Speeches - Part 2,1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 3
Documents and Photographs of Saunders' Swearing-In Ceremony as Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs,May 1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 4
Vice President's Trip to Israel,June 1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 5
Camp David Documents,June 1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 6
Documents on Camp David Accords,October - November 1978
- Box: 3
Folder: 7
Document and Photographs on Ambassador to Egypt in the 1970s Hermann Eitts,1978 - 1979
- Box: 3
Folder: 8
Article on Saunders' Peace Negotiating,1979
- Box: 3
Folder: 9
Egyptian/Israeli Peace Treaty Documents,1979
- Box: 3
Folder: 10
Speeches - Part 1,1979
- Box: 3
Folder: 11
Speeches - Part 2,1979
- Box: 4
Folder: 1
Documents and Photographs of Saunders' Award for Civilian Public Servants,April 1979
- Box: 4
Folder: 2
Newspaper Article on Bob Strauss, Carter-Era Peace Negotiator ,August 26, 1979
- Box: 4
Folder: 3
Documents on Saunders' Involvement in the Iran Hostage Crisis,1979 - 1980
- Box: 4
Folder: 4
Documents on Arrival of the Shah of Iran,1979 - 1980
- Box: 4
Folder: 5
Speeches,1980
- Box: 4
Folder: 6
Saunders' Personal Papers on the Iran Hostage Crisis - Part 1,1979 - 1981
- Box: 4
Folder: 7
Saunders' Personal Papers on the Iran Hostage Crisis - Part 2,1979 - 1981
- Box: 4
Folder: 8
Saunders' Personal Papers on the Iran Hostage Crisis - Part 3,1979 - 1981
- Box: 4
Folder: 9
The Challenge to American Diplomacy in the Middle East by Saunders,circa 1981
- Box: 4
Folder: 10
Documents on the End of Saunders' Career,1981
- Box: 4
Folder: 11
Saunders' Professional Appointment Book,1981
- Box: 5
Folder: 1
Algiers Accords on Iran ,1981
- Box: 5
Folder: 2
Documents on Algiers and Iran Hostage Crisis,1981
- Box: 5
Folder: 3
Saunders' Talks on Hostage Crisis and Supporting Materials ,1981
- Box: 5
Folder: 4
Saunders' Press Interview - Numerous due to Saunders Leaving Government Career and Able to Speak Freely,1981
- Box: 5
Folder: 5
Saunders' Press Interview - Numerous due to Saunders Leaving Government Career and Able to Speak Freely - Part 2,1981
- Box: 5
Folder: 6
Speeches - Part 1 - Audio Cassette Tapes in Box 39,1981
- Box: 6
Folder: 1
Speeches - Part 2,1981
- Box: 6
Folder: 2
Speeches - Part 3,1981
- Box: 6
Folder: 3
Speeches - Negotiation - Part 1,1981 - 1982
- Box: 6
Folder: 4
Speeches - Negotiation - Part 2,1981 - 1982
- Box: 6
Folder: 5
Saunders' Post-Government Career Documents,1981, 1986
- Box: 6
Folder: 6
Iran Hostage Crisis - Congressional Testimony,February 1981
- Box: 6
Folder: 7
Saunders' Professional Appointment Book and Girl Scout Pocket Planner,1982
- Box: 6
Folder: 8
Speeches - Middle East - Part 1,1982
- Box: 7
Folder: 1
Speeches - Middle East - Part 2,1982
- Box: 7
Folder: 2
Speeches - Middle East - Part 3,1982
- Box: 7
Folder: 3
New York Times Magazine Issues on Iran Hostage Crisis,1981, 1982
- Box: 7
Folder: 4
Saunders' Professional Appointment Book and Monthly Minder,1983
- Box: 7
Folder: 5
Speeches - New Directions,1983
- Box: 7
Folder: 6
Truman Papers,December 14, 1983
- Box: 7
Folder: 7
Papers on President Eisenhower - Part 1,circa 1984
- Box: 7
Folder: 8
Saunders' Professional Appointment Book and "Slim Jim Pocket Pal",1984
- Box: 7
Folder: 9
Papers on President Eisenhower - Part 2,April 6, 1984
- Box: 8
Folder: 1
Documents on President Ford - Includes 2 Tapes of an Interview with Ford - Housed in Box 39,1985
- Box: 8
Folder: 2
Saunders' Weekly - Minder Appointment Book,1985
This series documents Saunders involvement in numerous peace dialogues and experiences after his government career.
This series includes multiple notebooks and recordings on cassette tape on experiences during and after Saunders' career in government.
- Box: 30
Folder: 3
Four Perspectives on Ethics and Foreign Policy and Their Implications for Some Central Issues of Current U.S. Policy by Kenneth W. Thompson,July 1977
- Box: 30
Folder: 4
Moral Reasoning and Foreign Policy, with Special Emphasis on Human Rights,August 29, 19773
- Box: 30
Folder: 5
United States/Middle East Diplomatic Relations 1784 - 1978 - An Annotated Bibliography by Thomas A. Bryson,1979
- Box: 30
Folder: 6
Foreign Policy and Morality - Framework for a Moral Audit,1979
- Box: 30
Folder: 7
Foreign Policy and Ethics Documents,circa 1980
- Box: 30
Folder: 8
The Politics of International Relationships by Saunders,circa 1980
- Box: 30
Folder: 9
Documents on Foreign Policy,circa 1980
- Box: 30
Folder: 10
Documents on Foreign Policy Ethics and Morals,1985 - 1987
- Box: 30
Folder: 11
Documents on Nixon's Policies,1987
- Box: 30
Folder: 12
Richard Nixon's Reactive Approach to Middle East Policy by Steven B. Hedlund (Saunders' intern),March 1, 1987
- Box: 30
Folder: 13
Intervention: Normative Foundations, Political Meaning and Policy Choices by J. Bryan Hehir,October 23, 1987
- Box: 31
Folder: 1
Nuclear Ethics, Joseph S. Nye, Jr.,1988
- Box: 31
Folder: 2
Documents on Jewish-Arab Relationship,1988
- Box: 31
Folder: 3
"An Ethical Basis for a Theory of International Relationship",1988
- Box: 31
Folder: 4
Ethics and International Relations, ,1988
- Box: 31
Folder: 5
Memorandum on Ethics of Negotiation,April 14, 1988
- Box: 31
Folder: 6
Documents on Political Settlement in Persian Gulf,1991
- Box: 31
Folder: 7
Documents on Carter Administration and Camp David Accords Conference ,1991
- Box: 31
Folder: 8
Beyond Government - Extending the Public Policy Debate in Emerging Democracies,1995
- Box: 31
Folder: 9
Toni Morrison Princeton Convocation Address from Princeton Alumni Weekly,November 27, 1996
- Box: 31
Folder: 10
Contemporary concerns Grosvenor Books - Creative answers,1997 - 1998
- Box: 31
Folder: 11
Origins - NC Documentary Service, Volume 17, No. 28,March 3, 1998
- Box: 31
Folder: 12
The Carter Presidential Center Booklet,circa 2000
- Box: 32
Folder: 1
Pre-Camp David Notebooks,circa 1980s - 1990s
- Box: 33
Folder: 1
Pre-Camp David Notebooks,circa 1980s - 1990s
- Box: 34
Folder: 1
Pre-Camp David Notebooks,circa 1980s - 1990s
- Box: 35
Folder: 1
Pre-Camp David Notebooks,circa 1980s - 1990s
- Box: 36
Folder: 1
Pre-Camp David Notebooks,circa 1980s - 1990s
- Box: 37
Folder: 1
Presidential Policymaking Tapes,circa 1980s
- Box: 38
Folder: 1
Notebooks - Final Week of Iranian Hostage Crisis,1981
- Box: 39
Folder: 1
Miscellaneous AV Materials,circa 1980s - 1990s
- Box: 40
Folder: 1
Certificates, Awards, and Photos of Diplomatic Functions,circa 1980s