Leon Gouré papers, 1919-2007

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Summary

Creators:
Gouré, Leon
Abstract:
Speeches and writings, reports, studies, conference materials, printed matter, and slides, relating to Soviet defenses and military policy, especially civil defense measures, and to nuclear warfare strategy.
Extent:
59 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box (26.0 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Leon Gouré papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of Leon Gouré, American Sovietologist, defense expert, and longtime staff member of, first, the Rand Corporation, and, subsequently, the Science Applications International Corporation, concern Soviet defense policy. Gouré's initial area of expertise was Soviet civil defense. While maintaining this interest throughout a long career, he broadened his research to cover Soviet military policy and strategic thinking in general. A persistent theme was Soviet perception of American and NATO defense policy.

The heart of the collection is the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series, including lectures, briefing presentations, conference papers, Congressional testimony, technical reports, journal articles and longer writings by Gouré, alone or in collaboration with colleagues. Many of the writings, all unclassified, are reports commissioned by United States government agencies, including defense, arms control, nuclear energy, emergency management and other agencies. In addition to civil defense, specific topics include nuclear war strategy, deterrence, nuclear proliferation, arms reduction negotiations, emergency planning, ballistic missile defense, and the Chernobyl nuclear accident. Some writings are concerned with placing military and strategic issues within a broader ideological and geopolitical context, with analysis of the nature of Soviet society and its decision-making process. Gouré's academic lectures on Soviet society and foreign policy as a professor at the University of Miami are included. While directly addressing Soviet perceptions of American policy, the writings also serve to document American perceptions of Soviet policy during the Cold War. A feature of particular interest is that they extend through the decade of the 1990s, thus dealing not only with the Cold War period at its peak, but also with the transition from Soviet Union to post-Soviet Russia. They document the perception of the disintegration of the Soviet Union and of the new Russian political entity within American strategic circles.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1922, November 1
Born, Moscow, Russia
1923
Emigrated with family from Russia to Germany
1933
Emigrated from Germany to France
1940
Emigrated from France to the United States
1943-1946
United States Army Counterintelligence Corps
1947
B.A., New York University
1949
M.I.A., Columbia University
1951-1969
Staff member, Rand Corporation
1961
Ph.D., Georgetown University
1969-1978
Director of Soviet studies, Center for Advanced International Studies, University of Miami
1978-1980
Associate director, Advanced International Studies Institute, Washington, D.C.
1980-2004
Director, Center for Soviet Studies, Science Applications International Corporation
2007, March 16
Died, Arlington, Virginia
Acquisition information:
The papers were acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives from Daniel Gouré in 2008.
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged in seven series: Biographical File, 1973-2007; Speeches and Writings, 1954-2004; Writings By Others, 1950-1998; Subject File, 1942-2005; Printed Monographs, 1919-1968; Audiovisual Material, undated; and Oversize file, 1958.

Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Leon Gouré papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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