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KCSI Digest

Contents:

  1. Events
  2. Conferences
  3. Call for Papers
  4. Recent Publications

Events

Pearl Harbor, Japanese Espionage, and the Strange Case of Frederick Rutland

4 December

Inside Intelligence, Johns Hopkins, Online

 

Join host Michael Ard, Program Director for the MS in Intelligence Analysis program, for a curated discussion with Ron Drabkin on Pearl Harbor, Japanese Espionage, and the Strange Case of Frederick Rutland. An American writer, entrepreneur, and angel investor now based in Mitaka, Japan, Ron Drabkin is the author of Beverly Hills Spy: The Double-Agent War Hero Who Helped Japan Attack Pearl Harbor. Drabkin graduated from Duke University and attended Japan’s International Christian University, prior to earning an MBA at UC Berkeley. 

More details here.

 

Thinking Historically – A guide to Statecraft and Strategy

10 December

Stanford Center for International Security and Cooperation, online and in person

 

A rigorous understanding of the past provides powerful insights and tools that enable better choices in the present. This is especially true for the extraordinarily consequential worlds of statecraft and strategy. It may seem obvious that we should employ history to improve decision-making, but it is rarely done. History is more often misused, deployed ineffectively, or exploited for problematic and even nefarious purposes. Our times favour other ways of knowing the world over historical thinking. Sadly, historians rarely engage decision-makers, and decision-makers seldom consult historians.

How can history be better understood and used more effectively? The book explains and deploys two key interconnected concepts: first, a historical sensibility, which is the

foundation for the second, the act of thinking historically. Thinking Historically demonstrates how a historical sensibility, married to thinking historically, can generate better insights about the world while improving how we make critical choices facing a complex, uncertain future. Francis J. Gavin is the Giovanni Agnelli Distinguished Professor and the director of the Henry A. Kissinger Centre for Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS. 

More details here.

 

Strategic clarity: decision-making in a rapid information landscape

11 December

The International Institute for Strategic Studies, New York, NY


IISS-Americas and the Kaplan Public Service Foundation are partnering to host Strategic Clarity: Decision-Making in a Rapid Information Landscape, an event featuring the 2024-25 Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Visiting Fellows from the US Military and Intelligence Community, for a discussion on emerging technologies, command and control and information sharing across the US government.  

Exploring global strategic competition and the character of future warfare, this discussion will examine the role and application of new technologies and their impact on the decision-making processes. Our speakers will discuss the use of AI and autonomous weapons systems within their respective agencies, along with how modern technology presents ethical challenges. As risk assessments and dynamics between US allies and adversarial coalitions shift, so too must the strategic calculus for the world's most global military.

More details here.
 

Spy Chat with Chris Costa and Matthew G. Olson

12 December

International Spy Museum, Washington D.C., Online


Join us for an online discussion of the latest intelligence, national security, and terrorism issues in the news. Spy Museum Executive Director Chris Costa will lead the briefing and will be joined by Matthew G. Olsen, Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the U.S. Department of Justice. Olsen leads the Justice Department’s mission to combat terrorism, espionage, cybercrime, and other threats to the national security. From 2011 to 2014, Olsen served as the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC). Prior to leading NCTC, Olsen was the General Counsel for the National Security Agency. For 18 years, Olsen worked at the Department of Justice as a career attorney and in a number of leadership positions. He served as an Associate Deputy Attorney General for national security and was Special Counselor to the Attorney General. In 2006, Olsen helped establish the National Security Division and served as the first career Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security. For over a decade, Olsen was a federal prosecutor in the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. He also served as Special Counsel to the Director of the FBI, supporting the Bureau’s post-9/11 transformation. Olsen began his public service career as a trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice. Following their discussion of key issues, you’ll be able to ask questions via our online platform.


More details here.

 

UK Defense Intelligence at 60

12 December

RUSI, London, UK


From its creation in 1964, through the amalgamation of all three Service intelligence staffs and the civilian Joint Intelligence Bureau, Defense Intelligence has been – and continues to be – an essential element of the UK’s national intelligence machinery. In its 60th year, the Chief of Defense Intelligence, along with the rest of the panel, will discuss the achievements and challenges that have shaped the organization’s history. They will also discuss the contribution of Defense Intelligence to combatting future threats in an increasingly complex international security environment. The event will be moderated by Matthew Savill, Director of Military Sciences, RUSI.


More details here.

 

Coffee and Conversation with Jimmy L. Hall, Jr.

19 December

Intelligence and National Security Alliance, Online


Join on Thursday, December 19, from 9:00-9:45 am EST, for Coffee & Conversation with Jimmy L. Hall, Jr., CIO, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State and Bishop Garrison, INSA VP for Policy to discuss some of his top priorities heading into 2025, including: the INR OSINT strategy and IT modernization agenda, intersection of AI, OSINT, and private sector collaboration, and workforce recruitment, retention, and reskilling.

More details here.
 

Conferences

 

Society for Intelligence History Conference

6 – 8 February 2025

International Spy Museum, Washington, D.C.


The Society for Intelligence History (SIH) will be pleased to welcome you to our fourth conference, which will be held at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C., February 6-8, 2025. The annual conference provides a setting for exchange between intelligence scholars, practitioners, and students from around the world. Join us for two full days of expert panels, two blockbuster keynote lunch panels, and opportunities to meet other scholars and publishers. Registration fee includes admission to all panels and SIH-sponsored program events at the International Spy Museum venue with simple refreshments provided during breaks and keynote lunches. 


More details here.

 

Call for Papers

 

Call for papers – XVII Congress of the Association of Contemporary History

Submissions Due: 30 November 2024
Conference: 9-11 July 2025
Valencia, Spain


We are pleased to call for papers on intelligence for the panel organized by Emilio Grandío Soeane and Marta García Cabrera, which will be part of the upcoming XVII Congress of the Association of Contemporary History. This will take place between 9 and 11 July 2025, in Valencia.


Name of the panel: Espionage, intelligence and (dis)information in the contemporary world (1900-1991)


Abstract: A significant part of the contemporary world has been shaped by the shadows of espionage, intelligence, and the omnipresent fog of (dis)information. The period from 1900 to 1991 witnessed a profound and complex evolution in the field of information gathering, marking an era of covert confrontation between the main world powers. Espionage and intelligence emerged as crucial tools for survival and victory, in an increasingly interconnected, but equally dangerous, world. Furthermore, intelligence services also played a pivotal role at the domestic level, gathering information against potential internal and external threats. These agencies often operated clandestinely, using a variety of methods to gather information, from tracking suspicious individuals to intercepting communications. The contemporary world also witnessed the rise of persuasion as a weapon of mass influence, where (dis)information became a means of shaping public perception and undermining trust in enemies. From diplomatic intrigue to covert operations, espionage, intelligence and (dis)information became an essential element in the geopolitical game of the 20th century. However, this powerful policy instrument has also given rise to ethical and moral dilemmas, where the lines between national security and the violation of privacy became blurred.
Specific, but not exclusive, objectives of this panel could be the following:

  • Explore the evolution of espionage and intelligence throughout the 20th century, from the first clues that accompanied the beginning of the period to the intricate intelligence systems of the Cold War. It will discuss how intelligence agencies adapted to technological, political and social changes.
  • Examine the role of intelligence agencies, highlighting  their influence on national and international policies, as well as their impact on historical events, international relations and other intelligence apparatuses.
  • Analyze (dis)information as a political weapon: from propaganda to the dissemination of false information.
  • Address the ethical dilemmas of espionage and intelligence How far should intelligence agencies go in gathering information? How to balance national security with individual rights and privacy?
  • Analyze the relationship between intelligence, information and diplomacy.
  • To examine the development of Spanish intelligence, especially addressing aspects related to its structure, evolution, functions and roles throughout the 20th century.
  • To explore the relationship between intelligence agencies and national security forces.


More details here.


Call for papers – Intelligence Studies Summit

Submissions Due: 6 December 2024
Conference: 3-5 March 2025
National Intelligence University, Washington D.C.


NIU will convene its first Intelligence Studies Summit (ISS) in Washington, DC during March 2025. The ISS aims to provide a collegial forum for academics and intelligence practitioners to share their research and discuss the intelligence studies discipline and intelligence education. 


We encourage submissions that align with the following three themes: 

  • Using technology to transform intelligence and intelligence studies.
  • Reconsidering intelligence studies research and education, including perspectives on intelligence studies as an academic discipline. 
  • Defining the intelligence studies discipline to shape the future enterprise, in service to the Nation.

Paper proposals should be original research and intended for publication. Please submit your proposal on the Intelligence Studies Summit webpage on or before Friday, December 6, 2024.


More details here.
 

Recent Publications

Michael J. Ard, ‘ Examining the January 6 Capitol attack ‘intelligence failure’: the challenge of domestic security and the role of HUMINT,” Intelligence and National Security
https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2024.2422134

Joshua Yaphe, ‘Reconsidering the Science and Semantics of Intelligence Analysis,” International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence
https://doi.org/10.1080/08850607.2023.2270715

Eldad Ben Aharon, ‘Profiles in intelligence: an interview with the 17th Chief of Staff of the Israel Defense Forces, Moshe (Bogie) Ya’alon,’ Intelligence and National Security
https://doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2024.2422135
 

Compiled by Kayla Berg