The recent U.S. election focused our attention on the presidency, but most are unaware that the office has a strong connection to mediation. One president who held the powerful position stabnds out—Jimmy Carter because of his foreign policy accomplishments, such as the Camp David Accords, which was the treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel.

After being elected, Carter restarted the Middle East peace efforts. He sent Secretary of State Cyrus Vance to each country with handwritten notes inviting Israel’s Prime Minister Menachem Begin and Egypt’s President Anwar Sadat to meet at Camp David.

Begin and Sadat first met face-to-face with Carter to discuss a framework Sadat had proposed. U.S. National Security Adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski recalled that the meeting, “went better than expected.” But a joint meeting the next day was much less cordial, so after that Carter relied only on individual meetings.

Carter made use of what became known as the single negotiating text. After individual meetings, Carter developed a draft document which the parties reviewed. This document went through 18 drafts as the parties reviewed it and made changes.

Carter also reminded the parties of the consequences of not reaching an agreement. He took the parties on an excursion to the Gettysburg battlefield. As a military cadet, Sadat had studied the battle and knew its history. While Begin was unfamiliar with the battle, he did recite Lincoln’s Gettysburg address from memory. Some feel that the cemetery was a reminder of the horror of war.

Carter also made use of deadline pressure. By the end of the 10th day, there was still no firm agreement on anything. Carter said to the parties, “I have to go back to Washington on Sunday. Either we get something by Sunday, or it’s a failure.”

When Sadat became frustrated and decided to withdraw from the negotiations without any agreement, Carter went alone to Sadat’s cabin and said that if he left Camp David, “our friendship was severed forever.” Sadat walked to the corner of the room, came back, and said, “I’m staying.” When Begin had decided to withdraw, Carter brought Begin a group photograph inscribed to each of Begin’s grandchildren signed by Carter, Sadat, and Begin. Carter knew the impact that photograph would have on Begin. Recognizing the impact the negotiations would have on his and his grandchildren’s generations, Begin returned as well.

Later enroute to the Capitol to address Congress on the accords Carter added to his remarks, “Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God.” The Camp David Accords returned the Sinai to Egypt, established diplomatic relations between Israel and Egypt, and set the stage for subsequent negotiations.

Perhaps no international negotiation has been as fully and as openly documented as the Camp David Accords, which provide insights into a president’s use of mediation skills.

I’m frequently asked how and why I got started as a mediator. The “how” is history: Sam Keltner, an academic colleague who had experience with the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, may have been the first person to introduce me to the profession. After that, I taught some classes for the Rochester, New York extension of Cornell’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations and had many stimulating conversations with the professional mediators working there.

The “why” is more personal: As a child growing up in South Texas I was struck with the many consequences of economic and social class. Some people had privileges and power others did not. In my child’s mind, that was simply not “fair,” although I had no solutions. Years later as a graduate student I was honored to be an occasional instructor at Michigan State University Department of Communication/Agency for International Development workshops in communication. In some the classes we used R. Garry Shirts simulation "StarPower," which in dramatic ways demonstrates the consequences of economic and political stratification. Participants who by chance gained power often believed they had somehow earned and deserved this advantage and exercised it over others with less power. It was around this time I became dedicated to “leveling the playing field.”

In my academic area of communication studies I was one of the first to introduce the study of conflict into the discipline with an early reader. From that start I later published the book “Win-Win Negotiating: Turning Conflict into Agreement” (published by Wiley in 1985) and developed the training seminar “Managing Conflict Productively,” which I conducted nationally for many years. Concurrently, I became increasingly involved in mediation as a mediator, trainer and researcher. With the noted intercultural counselor Paul Pedersen I planned and executed an international conference for practicing mediators throughout Asia held at Penang, Malaysia. Case studies from that conference were published in the book “Constructive Conflict Management: Asia-Pacific Cases.”

I was finally able to put my experiences in a textbook for college level classes in conflict. The second edition of that book has just been published by Cognella. It’s just a continuation of my personal efforts to encourage people to find creative ways to deal with conflict that truly “level the playing field.”

Cognella’s website features the book here.