Henry A. Kissinger as Negotiator: Background and Key Accomplishments

46 Pages Posted: 2 Dec 2014 Last revised: 24 Jan 2017

See all articles by James K. Sebenius

James K. Sebenius

HBS Negotiations, Organizations and Markets Unit

Laurence Green

Harvard Business School

Eugene Kogan

Harvard Kennedy School

Date Written: December 12, 2016

Abstract

Following a brief summary of Henry A. Kissinger’s career, this paper describes six of his most pivotal negotiations: the historic establishment of U.S. diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China, the easing of geopolitical tension with the Soviet Union, symbolized by the signing of the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (“SALT I”), the limited success of the SALT II negotiations, the mediation after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war of the agreement on Sinai disengagement between Egypt and Israel and of the Israel-Syria Separation of Forces Agreement, and the Paris Peace Accords to end the Vietnam War. An appendix lists other important negotiations in which Kissinger played key roles. In subsequent papers (forthcoming), the authors will examine these and other major negotiations in which Henry Kissinger played leading roles in order to extract their most important insights into the principles and practice of effective negotiation.

Keywords: Kissinger, negotiation, bargaining, diplomacy, coercive diplomacy, multiparty negotiations, dispute resolution, mediation, international relations

Suggested Citation

Sebenius, James K. and Green, Laurence and Kogan, Eugene, Henry A. Kissinger as Negotiator: Background and Key Accomplishments (December 12, 2016). Harvard PON Working Paper, Harvard Business School NOM Unit Working Paper No. 15-040, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2532613 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2532613

James K. Sebenius (Contact Author)

HBS Negotiations, Organizations and Markets Unit ( email )

Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
United States
617-495-9334 (Phone)
617-496-7379 (Fax)

Laurence Green

Harvard Business School ( email )

Soldiers Field Road
Morgan 270C
Boston, MA 02163
United States

Eugene Kogan

Harvard Kennedy School ( email )

79 John F. Kennedy Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
United States

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