Summary of the reading materials for the final exam (2023) for Introduction to Secret Affairs Notes
on Readings. INCLUDES notes from (Total: 40 pages):
● See * Summary List * on page 1.
Introduction to Secret Affairs Notes on Readings
Table of Contents
* Summary List * 1
“The Study of Intelligence in Theory and Practice” 2
“The Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence” 4
James Wittz’s “4. The Sources & Methods of Intelligence Studies” 4
William J. Daugherty’s “37. Covert action: Strengths and Weaknesses” 5
“Surveillance, documentation and privacy: an international comparative analysis of state
intelligence records” 6
“Intelligence: from secrets to policy” 8
Chapter 4 - The Intelligence Process – A Macro Look: who does what for whom? 8
Chapter 5 - Collection & the Collection Disciplines 10
“Understanding the Intelligence Cycle” 14
1 - The Past & Future of the Intelligence Cycle 14
“The Kent-Kendall Debate of 1949” 15
“Intelligence Elsewhere: Spies and Espionage Outside the Anglosphere” 16
Introduction: An Agenda for the Comparative Study of Intelligence 16
“The way ahead in explaining intelligence organization and process” 17
“Intelligence under democracy and authoritarianism: a philosophical analysis” 19
“Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): An Oxymoron?” 22
“Foreign Intelligence Liaison: Devils, Deals and Details” 24
“‘Connecting Intelligence and Theory: Intelligence Liaison and International Relations” 27
“Explaining the depth and breadth of international intelligence cooperation: towards a
comprehensive understanding” 29
“Intelligence as Democratic Statecraft: Patterns of Civil-Intelligence Relations Across the Five Eyes
Security Community - the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand” 31
1. Introduction - The Democratic-Intelligence Paradox 31
“5. Democratic accountability of intelligence services” 35
“Grey is the New Black: Covert Action and Implausible Deniability” 37
“Covert Communication: The Intelligibility and Credibility of Signaling in Secret” 38
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* Summary List *
These notes include a summary of each of the following readings:
● Lenn Scott and Peter Jackson’s article (2004) “The Study of Intelligence in Theory and
Practice”, pp. 139-169.
● Katherine M. Wisser and Joel A. Blanco-Rivera’s article (2015) “Surveillance, documentation
and privacy: an international comparative analysis of state intelligence records”, pp. 125-147.
● Lock K. Johnson’s book (2010) “The Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence”,
chapters 4 & 37.
● Mark Lowenthal’s book (2009, 4th Edition) “Intelligence: from secrets to policy”, chapters 4 &
5.
● Michael Warner’s chapter 1 “The past and future of the Intelligence Cycle’ from Mark
Phythian’s book (2013) “Understanding the Intelligence Cycle”.
● Jack Davis’ article (1991) “The Kent-Kendall Debate of 1949”.
● Philip H. J. Davies and Kristian Gustafson’s chapter “Introduction: An Agenda for the
Comparative Study of Intelligence” in the book (2013) “Intelligence Elsewhere: Spies and
Espionage Outside the Anglosphere.
● Peter Gill’s article (2018) “The way ahead in explaining intelligence organization and
process”, pp. 574-586.
● Joseph M. Hatfield’s article (2022) “Intelligence under democracy and authoritarianism: a
philosophical analysis”, pp. 903-919.
● Bowman H. Miller’s article (2018) “Open Source Intelligence (OSINT): An Oxymoron?”, pp.
702-719.
● Jennifer Sims’ article (2006) “Foreign Intelligence Liaison: Devils, Deals and Details”, pp.
195-217.
● Adam D.M. Svendsen’s article (2009) “Connecting Intelligence and Theory: Intelligence
Liaison and International Relations”, pp. 700-729.
● Pepijn Tuinier’s article (2021) “Explaining the depth and breadth of international intelligence
cooperation: towards a comprehensive understanding”, pp. 116-138.
● Christian Leuprecht and Hayley McNorton’s book (2011) “Intelligence as Democratic
Statecraft: Patterns of Civil-Intelligence Relations Across the Five Eyes Security Community -
the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand”, pp. 1-21.
● Hans Born and Ian Leigh’s chapter (2007) “5. Democratic accountability of intelligence
services”, pp. 193-214.
● Richard Aldrich and Rory Cormac’s article (2018) “Grey is the New Black: Covert Action and
Implausible Deniability”, pp. 477-494.
● Austin Carson and Keren Yarhi-Milo’s article (2017) “Covert Communication: The Intelligibility
and Credibility of Signaling in Secret”, pp. 124-156.
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“The Study of Intelligence in Theory and Practice”
Transformation of secret intelligence’s role in the 21st century (post 9/11 terrorist attacks &
justification of the 2003 war on Iraq).
➔ Continued to gather momentum.
➔ Growth as a focus of academic enquiry.
Scope & Focus: What is intelligence? How do we study it?
Intelligence: Process of gathering, analysing & making use of information. A tool of foreign/domestic
& defence policymaking (for the execution of policy & to inform policy).
➔ 3 separate associated things (Kent):
1. Knowledge.
2. Type of organisation that produces that knowledge
3. Activities pursued by that organisation
➔ Distinction between intelligence vs. government intelligence (Herman):
◆ Government Intelligence: Specialised organisations that have that name & what
they do/produce.
➔ 3 distinct perspectives:
1. First Approach (International Historians): Explains the relationship between
organisational structure & policy making, intelligence as a means of acquiring new
information to explain policy decisions in peace & war.
● Focus on:
○ Process of intelligence collection.
○ Origin of individual sources of intelligence.
○ Precise use that is made of intelligence as it travels up the chain of
decision.
● Intelligence as a tool of foreign & defence policymaking.
2. Second Approach: Establishes general models that explain success/failure in the
intelligence process (focus on levels of analysis & decision). Aim to analyse the
personal, political & institutional biases that characterise intelligence organisations.
● Intelligence as a tool of foreign & defence policymaking.
3. Third Approach: Political function of intelligence as a means of state control.
● Use of intelligence sources in understanding the role of ideology & state
power in political, social & cultural life.
Intelligence & the Study of International Relations
Failure to integrate intelligence studies into the mainstream research in international relations (IR).
➔ Interest confined mainly to scholars working on theories of decision-making.
➔ Neglect in other areas of IR (humanitarian intervention, democratic peace debates, attempts
at regime change).
➔ Solutions:
◆ Need for different conceptual approaches to understand security threats & radical
changes in the way intelligence agencies process knowledge on these threats.
◆ Less hierarchical intelligence communities, based on:
● The concept of information ‘networks ‘.
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● ‘Open’ sources of information.
Speaking ‘Truth unto Power’ or ‘Power unto Truth’?
Relationship between power & knowledge.
➔ The image of an independent & apolitical intelligence community = questioned.
➔ Idea of speaking truth unto power has clear relevance to debates over the relationship
between government & academia.
Dark Sides of Moons
Issues of strategic surprise & intelligence failure have loomed large in the evolution of the study of
intelligence.
➔ Need for intelligence communities to:
◆ Pay closer attention to the many dimensions of global insecurity.
◆ Adapt to new political problems facing world politics.
Misleading distinction between gathering intelligence & intervening in other states’ internal affairs.
Intelligence & Ethics
Intelligence’s ethical & legal dimensions are rarely analysed → need for an explicit concern with
moral issues (Herman).
➔ Intelligence requires ‘a similar ethical foundation’ to the use of armed force (Herman).
Popular Culture & Intelligence
Popular culture has played an important role in shaping official & public attitudes towards
intelligence (fiction provides a range of ethical representations of intelligence).
A Final ‘Missing Dimension’: National & International Intelligence Cooperation
Another neglected aspect = cooperation between different intelligence services at the:
● National level = efficient cooperation between secret services is crucial to the effective
exploitation of intelligence.
● International level = has received more attention from historians (e.g., Anglo-America
‘intelligence alliance’).
