KCSI Digest - Sept 2026 | King’s Centre for the Study of Intelligence

September 2026 Digest

Contents:

Events
Conferences
Call for Papers
Recent Publications
Podcasts

Events:

Ortiz’s War
2 September 2026
The International Spy Museum, Washington D.C. and online

From French Foreign Legionnaire to OSS saboteur to Hollywood actor, American Marine Colonel Peter Ortiz’s life was one of courage and cinematic scope! In 1944, Ortiz parachuted into France on two top-secret inter-Allied missions. Operating deep behind enemy lines, he traveled throughout Southeastern France arming and training the Maquis, blowing up Nazi infrastructure, and aiding downed Allied airmen. Rotating covers—including as a fashion designer and minor Vichy government official—he infiltrated Nazi gatherings and funneled intelligence about German positions back to OSS London ahead of D-Day. By the time he escaped across the Pyrenees, he was among the Gestapo’s most wanted.

Join us this evening to discover more about this extraordinary man—the most battle-decorated member of America’s WWII spy agency, the OSS. SPY historian Mark Jacobson will interview Nicholas Reynolds and Katie S. Sanders about their new book Ortiz’s War: The Allies’ Secret Weapon against the Nazis in France. The authors are uniquely suited to tell this remarkable story: Reynolds is a historian, best-selling author, and retired Marine colonel and CIA officer; Sanders is an award-winning journalist whose grandfather was rescued by Ortiz when his B-24 was shot down over Nazi-occupied France.

More detailshere.

Cuba on the Brink?
8 September 2026
Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C.

Please join us at IWP for a fireside chat with Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow at the Heritage Foundation and Christine Balling, Senior Vice President at The Institute of World Politics and Senior Fellow for Latin American Affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council. This event will be moderated by Dr. Jim Robbins, Senior Vice President, Institute of World Politics.

For decades, the Cuban regime has trained and supported Marxist insurgencies whose acts of terrorism destabilized nations across Latin America. Within the United States, Cuban intelligence has penetrated senior levels of government agencies and continues to conduct information operations, influencing American academia, politics, and culture.

Mr. Gonzalez and Ms. Balling will discuss the ongoing threat Cuba poses to the U.S. homeland and the Western Hemisphere, as well as what might lie ahead for the regime and the Cuban people.

More details here.

Trends in Defence Tech
9 September 2026
Women in Telecoms and Technology, Bird & Bird, London

WiTT's September meeting will focus on technology trends in the defence sector. In a normal year the WiTT board would have a healthy debate about topics to address in our upcoming panel discussions: a new angle on AI? Data centers? Fibre vs. satellite? Is mobile still a separate area? But this is not a normal year: “UK drives off Russian submarines lurking near subsea cables”; “Russian spy spacecraft have intercepted Europe’s key satellites, officials believe”; “Big Tech's new reality: Data centers are a war target”. It was clear we should address the topic of defence tech.

Wars in Ukraine and Iran have led Western governments to increase military budgets, especially in areas related to technology. In fact, in June 2025 Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves announced the biggest sustained increase in defence spending in the UK since the Cold War — £5 billion — with a focus on innovation in drone and laser weapon technology as well as AI for precision targeting and other applications.

WiTT’s panel will take a closer look at some of the technologies being funded and developed to improve preparedness. We’ll also discuss the threats to our tech infrastructure, and the larger legal and ethical issues that arise from the use of some of these technologies: can autonomous systems be trusted to target combatants only? Does the UK need to own more of the cloud and data center infrastructure we’ve come to rely on? Do we need to modify procurement strategies?

WiTT board director Yasmeen Majid will chair our panel. Our speakers will include Silvia Grant, Deputy Director and Head of Technology & Futures, Chief Technology Office at National Armaments Department, UK Ministry of Defence; Mimi Keshani, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Hadean; and Ali Smith, Associate, Bird & Bird

More details here.

Inside Intelligence: Venezuela: Democracy Delayed or Democracy Denied?
9 September 2026
Johns Hopkins University, online

Join moderator Michael Ard, program director of the MS in Intelligence Analysis program, as he welcomes former U.S. diplomat and current political consultant Brian R. Naranjo who will share his insights and expertise on Venezuela.

A former political officer, desk officer, and Deputy Chief of Mission in Caracas (2014-18) as the Embassy’s chief operating officer, Naranjo led crisis and risk management until the Maduro regime declared him persona non grata and expelled him for his advocacy on behalf of detained American citizen Joshua Holt. In addition to his nine years in multiple assignments in the country, he has maintained strong ties to Venezuela through an extensive network of key relationships developed over his senior-level positions and through his family. He is professionally fluent in Spanish, including Venezuelan criollo.

Naranjo served as Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico City from 2021–2024, leading over 100 professionals across the embassy and nine consulates advancing U.S. priorities on security, trade, and migration. He previously held the same portfolio at the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa from 2018–2021, directing political operations during critical USMCA negotiations and the COVID-19 border response. For the final year of his tour in Ottawa, he served as Deputy Chief of Mission. In Washington, Naranjo served at the White House as Executive Assistant (Chief of Staff) to the Deputy National Security Advisor, then to the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the Assistant Secretary for Western Hemisphere Affairs. He directed the State Department’s Office of Policy Planning for Western Hemisphere Affairs and the Office of UN Political Affairs.

More details here.

The Troika: Markus Wolf’s Memoir of the Cold War
15 September 2026
The International Spy Museum, Washington D.C. and online

In 1989, the notorious East German spymaster Markus Wolf published an unexpected book The Troika: A Story of Three Families, Friendship, and the Cold War. The Troika follows three boys and their Communist expatriate families—two from Germany, one from the United States—who form deep childhood bonds as they come of age in Moscow during the turmoil of Stalin’s Great Terror of the 1930s. Dispersed by the events of World War II, they wind up in different corners of the geopolitical map as they mature, survive the chaos of war, and struggle to reinforce or abandon the principles instilled in them as young men.

The Troika is now appearing in English for the first time. What were Wolf’s intensions with this introspective and nostalgic memoir? Join us this evening for a discussion of this unusual book with the editors Dr. Christian F. Ostermann, Research Professor, University of Maryland, and Executive Director, National Cold War Center; and Dr. Katharina Friedla, Taube Family Curator for European Collections/Research Fellow, Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Dr. Hope M. Harrison, Professor of History and International Affairs at The George Washington University, will provide perspective on German intelligence in the context of the broader Cold War and the division of Germany. SPY’s historian Dr. Mark Jacobson will moderate this glimpse into Wolf’s lived experience of the complicated ideologies of the twentieth century and the spymaster’s overscale role in East Germany.

More details here.

A Public Suicide: Pastor Brüsewitz’s Signal
15 September 2026
German Spy Museum, Berlin

East Germany: Fifty years ago, Pastor Oskar Brüsewitz chose to die by burning at the stake in protest against communism. Since then, his death has been the subject of much debate and discussion. For decades, crucial documents were missing: his personnel file was sealed. Now it is open! And finally, the SED's narrative of the victim's "mental illness" can be refuted. The file attests to the integrity and resilience of the fearless pastor. Furthermore, the sources reveal that not only the Stasi, but also the People's Police, had him under surveillance from the very beginning because of his church work.

Looking back: On August 18, 1976, the Protestant pastor Brüsewitz set himself on fire in front of St. Michael's Church in Zeitz, Saxony-Anhalt. He had previously protested against the educational and church policies of the GDR's party and state leadership with a banner. News of Brüsewitz's self-immolation spread quickly throughout the GDR. West German television and radio stations, which could be received in many places, reported on it repeatedly from August 20, 1976, onward. Subsequently, the GDR news agency ADN issued a report portraying Brüsewitz as mentally ill.

Approximately 400 people attended the funeral on August 26, 1976, including 70 pastors in their robes. The burial took place under the watchful eye and complete control of the Stasi (East German secret police). The event sheds light on the complex lines of conflict between Pastor Brüsewitz, the state, and the church. *This will be conducted in German*

More details here.

From Silos to Statecraft: Whole-of-Government Cyber Deterrence in Europe
21 September 2026
RUSI, London

In November 2025, a coordinated cyber-attack struck distributed energy sites across Poland, conducted by the same group responsible for the 2015 and 2016 attacks on Ukraine's power grid. It did not arrive alone. Two months earlier, around twenty drones had crossed into Polish airspace, prompting Poland to invoke Article 4 of the North Atlantic Treaty; information operations amplifying denials of Russian culpability followed. One campaign, at least three domains, and a European response still largely organized around tackling one threat at a time.

Poland is not exceptional. Europe has seen possibly more than 140 drone incursions over ports, air bases and aircraft carriers, alongside persistent subsea cable sabotage, influence campaigns and a sustained tempo of malicious cyber activity – including state harboring of criminal groups, criminal fronts for state operations, and prepositioning in critical national infrastructure held in reserve. Much of it is ambiguous by design, and hard to attribute either legally or technically. The successful defense of territory and national interests in the face of hybrid threats will increasingly rely on how well European states can integrate and coordinate different capabilities to achieve deterrence outcomes, including in and through cyberspace.

While a whole-of-government approach that uses all levers of state power is needed to degrade adversaries’ strategic advantage in cyberspace, operationalization can often be more challenging than not. Join us for an expert panel discussion with practitioners from government, industry and academia on what an integrated, aligned and campaigns-based approach to cyber deterrence demands of European capitals.

The event will also mark the publication of a forthcoming paper by Dr Louise Marie Hurel and Dr Gareth Mott, where they argue that cyber deterrence is better understood as an outcome than a strategy and set out how cyber and non-cyber instruments can be calibrated and operationalized – proactively, actively, reactively, or held in prospect – to constrain state-linked malicious cyber activity.

More details here.

IWP IAFIE Chapter Book Talk: Queen of Cuba
21 September 2026
Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C.

Peter Lapp, in his book, Queen of Cuba: An FBI Agent’s Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years, former Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Peter Lapp recounts the gripping investigation and ultimate capture of Ana Montes, the highest-ranking Cuban spy ever arrested for infiltrating the U.S. government. Working as a top Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) analyst, Montes compromised highly classified American military secrets and operations out of ideological sympathy for Fidel Castro’s regime, refusing any financial compensation for her espionage. In this book talk—conducted on the 25th anniversary of Montes’s arrest—Lapp provides a firsthand, behind-the-scenes look at the painstaking counterintelligence operation he ran to unmask a mole operating at the highest levels of national security. The narrative climaxes with the urgent race to arrest Montes just days after the September 11 attacks—a necessary and accelerated takedown to prevent her from leaking sensitive war plans and jeopardizing American lives.

More details here.

The Children of Agents: Family Fates
22 September 2026
German Spy Museum, Berlin

Spies lead double lives. So do their children, though they don't know it. They grow up in families where silence, deception, and repression prevail. On the surface, everything seems normal: school, holidays, dinner. But behind the facade, the parents work for an intelligence agency, in the Cold War, between East and West, between ideology, betrayal, and personal conviction.

Now, the new two-part TV documentary "Agent Children" (3SAT/ZDF) tells the story of the Cold War as a family saga. The focus is not on the agents themselves, but on their children. What does it do to a person when their own father or mother is suddenly exposed as a spy? When parents become traitors, heroes, or enemies of the state? And when the adults' political decisions ultimately destroy an entire family life?

Two films portray six people whose lives were shaped by their parents' espionage activities. Their stories lead right into the heart of the East-West German intelligence world, but above all, they tell of loyalty and disappointment, of silence, guilt, and the lifelong search for answers.

For our event we were able to recruit several children of well-known agents from East and West – including the children of Chancellor spy Günter Guillaume, Stasi officer Werner Stiller who defected to the West and former intelligence officer Hansjoachim Tiedge, who defected to the GDR. *This will be conducted in German.*

More details here.

Australian Security Intelligence Organization DG to Address RUSI
23 September 2026
RUSI, London

Marking 70 years since Australia and New Zealand joined the Five Eyes intelligence sharing partnership, the Director-General will provide unique frontline insights into a complex, challenging and changing security environment. Mr. Burgess will argue that the threats facing Western democracies are unprecedented in their scale and sophistication, making international partnerships more crucial than ever. Held since 2001, the annual Gallipoli Memorial Lecture aims to illustrate how the contribution and sacrifices of Australian and New Zealand forces more than a century ago can inspire countries today to use their military instruments to best effectiveness. The lecture will be hosted by Sir David Omand GCB, RUSI Distinguished Fellow and former UK Security and Intelligence Co-ordinator, Cabinet Office.

More details here.

Spies, Lies and Nuke: Inside International Espionage
25-27 September 2026
Hacienda del Sol Guest Ranch Resort, Tucson, Arizona

Join Valerie Plame and her highly decorated CIA colleagues to pull back the curtain on international espionage and learn what is really happening in our chaotic world today through the eyes of intelligence professionals. Topics will include critical issues and in-depth discussions focused on hotspots like Ukraine and Gaza, the ongoing nuclear threats we face, domestic terrorism, how to recruit a terrorist, understanding AI influence on intelligence operations, insider threats, and the ethics of espionage. Our Spies, Lies & Nukes speaker roster is unparalleled. Don’t miss this unique and exciting opportunity to engage with experts who have worked in the darkest corners of the world to keep our country safe.

More details here.

Conferences:

IAFIE Europe Annual Conference 2026
8-10 September 2026
Brunel University of London, UK

The International Association for Intelligence Education European Chapter are delighted to announce that our 2026 Annual Conference will take place between 8-10 September 2026, hosted by the Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (BCISS) at Brunel University London. This conference will be an opportunity to focus on pedagogical innovation, share best-practices, and highlight the value of practical teaching.

The conference will feature two thematic tracks:

Track 1 Theme: The Role and Value of Practical Exercises in Intelligence Education and Training

This track welcomes contributions that examine the use of practical exercises in intelligence education. This can include papers and panels that reflect on the effectiveness, design, and application of practical exercises. Proposals may also include the delivery of live, interactive exercises at the conference, offering the opportunity for attendees to experience them first-hand.

Track 2 Theme: Where is the State of the Art and Where Do We Need to Go Next?

This track invites proposals for panels and papers that showcase the latest developments in intelligence studies and explore future directions for the field. The aim is to encourage innovative, future-oriented thinking—even if the approaches have not yet been fully tested. Submissions may present tentative or preliminary research, as well as forward-looking and moderately speculative ideas about emerging challenges and opportunities.

We hope you agree that the IAFIE European Chapter Annual Conference in 2026 combines important topics in intelligence education with a world-class location conveniently located near world-renowned sites.

More details here.

International Intelligence History Association Annual Conference: Allies and Adversaries: US-European Intelligence Relations
29 September – 1 October 2026
Georgetown University, Washington D.C.

The International Intelligence History Association (IIHA) will convene its 2026 Annual Conference in cooperation with Georgetown University. The Conference will be held on September 30 – October 2, 2026, at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.

Intelligence has always played a pivotal role in shaping transatlantic relationships. During the Second World War, the United States emerged as one of the principal allies, and intelligence cooperation was essential to victory in Europe. This collaboration laid the foundation for a close partnership that continued throughout the Cold War, when the United States and Western European nations worked together to counter the Soviet threat. NATO was a cornerstone of this security architecture, and intelligence sharing became a critical element in maintaining deterrence and strategic stability.

However, the history of transatlantic intelligence relations has been marked by cooperation as well as competition. On the one hand, the United States was a trusted ally of Western Europe, and its intelligence community served as a bulwark against Warsaw Pact espionage. On the other, suspicion about intelligence activities of friendly services within the alliance at times created friction and raised questions about sovereignty and trust. US policies beyond Europe often also influenced these sensitive relations.

More details here.

Behörden Spiegel Intelligence Conference: Reconnaissance and Operations from a Distance: Space as the operational domain for these services
7-8 October 2026
Hotel Adlon Kempinski, Berlin

Now more than ever, Germany, its partners and friends are facing serious and pressing challenges and risks in the fields of security policy, the military and intelligence, across all aspects of ensuring security and providing essential public services. Space-based intelligence, AI-assisted data analytics and global satellite networks have become key factors of modern security policy. The strategic importance of space is growing for Germany and Europe. At the same time, the biggest reform of the German intelligence services in decades is imminent: new powers, a modernized security architecture and changes to the oversight of the intelligence services are intended to enable the services to respond effectively to a fundamentally changed threat landscape. What are the implications of this for Germany’s security and security within Germany? Against this background, we would like to remind you once again of the Intelligence Conference to be held on 7 and 8 October 2026 at the Hotel Adlon Kempinski in Berlin, which will focus on the following theme: “Reconnaissance and operations from a distance: space as the operational domain for these services"

With its two-day programme, which covers strategic and operational intelligence topics, the conference is Germany’s leading congress for the intelligence services. Please note that the conference will be conducted under the Chatham House Rules and conducted in German.

More details here.

The Society for Intelligence History Conference
11-13 October 2026
King’s College London, London

Formerly known as the North American Society for Intelligence History (NASIH), the Society for Intelligence History (SIH) is a membership organization for scholars who focus on intelligence history--an increasingly large group but who do not fit neatly into other historical subfields. SIH provides programs and conferences for academics and practitioners to meet each other and discuss the field’s current trends, their ongoing research and findings, and projected future models of study. SIH holds an annual conference to stimulate historical conversations about intelligence. The 2026 gathering will be held at King’s College London. Attendees will enjoy three full days of expert panels, blockbuster keynote lunch panels, and opportunities to meet other scholars and publishers. Each day will also feature a special keynote panel at lunchtime. The registration fee includes admission to all panels and SIH-sponsored program events with simple refreshments provided during breaks and keynote lunches.

More details here.

The National Intelligence History Conference: International Collaboration and Cooperation
14-16 October 2026
King’s College London, London

The National Intelligence History Conference (NIHC) will be held at Bletchley Park on Wednesday 14 – Friday 16 October 2026. Jointly hosted by Bletchley Park Trust and GCHQ, this academic conference is open to all who have an interest in intelligence history.

The theme of the 2026 conference is ‘International Collaboration and Co-operation’. Topics presented at the conference will include international collaboration, unsanctioned cooperation and inter-agency communication; intelligence-sharing, isolation and international boundaries; nationality, national identity and intelligence; Signals intelligence, HUMINT, COMINT, espionage and criminal intelligence; intelligence as represented in popular culture and literature, including fiction, documentary, TV and film; and more. Delegates will enjoy three days of panel discussions, plenary lectures, poster displays, networking opportunities and free access to the Bletchley Park heritage site and facilities.

More details here.

Call for Papers:

Special Issue: Psychology and Intelligence: Intelligence and National Security
Abstracts Due: 1 November 2026
Initial Submission Deadline: 31 December 2027

Intelligence and National Security invites submissions for a special issue on Psychology and Intelligence. From psychological analyses of world leaders to deception and disinformation through the activation of cognitive processes and biases, psychology has played a strong role within the field of intelligence. This issue seeks to highlight how psychology has informed intelligence practices and their wider impacts on the field.

This special issue offers an opportunity to explore the ways in which foundations in psychology have had and continue to offer additional applications to the study of intelligence. Leadership assessment at-a-distance techniques have been carried out on world leaders to better understand their decision-making and offer opportunities for strategic engagement. Likewise, these techniques may offer insight into the decision-making of intelligence leaders, which remains largely unexplored. Heuristic and cognitive processing play a critical role in how people interpret information. As a result, these can also have widespread impacts on intelligence gathering and analysis while also playing a fundamental role in deception and disinformation. They also have serious considerations regarding how intelligence customers consume intelligence products.

The goal of the special issue is to highlight the often-overlooked aspect of the role that psychology has and will continue to play within the intelligence studies field. We invite research paper submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes: