Dear all,
Please see below for upcoming events, opportunities, and publications which may be of interest to you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. KCSI seminar: ‘The Gouzenko Case’ with Gill Bennett
2. KCSI seminar: ‘JTAC History – 20 Years’
3. ‘State of Silence: The Espionage Act, Politics, and Press Freedom’
4. ‘Queen of Cuba’ with Peter Lapp
5. ‘A Frank and Open Discussion about the World of Spying’ with Alexis Albion
6. NASIH Brown Bag Lunches
7. IHR Series on ‘Official Histories’
8. CfP: Workshop on ‘Counterintelligence as Knowledge’
9. CfP: HistoCrypt 2024
10. CfP: IJICI Special Issue on ‘European Intelligence Education and Culture(s)’
11. Kjetil Hatlebrekke Memorial Book Prize
12. KCSI Publications
EVENTS
1. KCSI seminar: ‘The Gouzenko Case’ with Gill Bennett
4 December
KCL Strand, London, UK
The case of the first major post-1945 defection, by Soviet cypher clerk Igor Gouzenko in Ottawa in September 1945, illustrates the difficulties that dealing with an unexpected crisis present to governments. As the recent row caused by Canadian allegations about Indian activities indicates, this is a perennial problem.
Gill Bennett was Chief Historian of the Foreign Office from 1995-2005, and Senior Editor of its official history of British foreign policy, Documents on British Policy Overseas. She has worked as a historian in Whitehall for over forty years and provided historical advice to twelve Foreign Secretaries under six Prime Ministers, from Edward Heath to Tony Blair. A specialist in the history of secret intelligence, in 2006 she published a ground-breaking biography, Churchill’s Man of Mystery: Desmond Morton and the World of Intelligence. Gill continues to work on a part-time basis with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Historians, and is a Visiting Lecturer in the Department of War Studies at KCL.
More details here
2. KCSI seminar: ‘JTAC History – 20 Years’
13 December
KCL Strand, London, UK
The Joint Terrorism Analysis Centre (JTAC) was created in 2003 as the British government's response to the attacks on 9/11 and growing threat of Islamist Terrorism. It was the first organisation of its kind to bring together multiple government departments and agencies and has since been replicated around the world. This unique talk will bring together Sir David Omand, the driving force behind the creation of JTAC, with four different former heads. The event will be moderated by Dr Kevin O'Brien.
More details here
3. ‘State of Silence: The Espionage Act, Politics, and Press Freedom’
6 December
Columbia University, New York, USA
Join a distinguished panel of legal experts and journalists who will discuss the contemporary politics of the Espionage Act, including its use in the prosecution of former President Trump, the ongoing efforts to extradite Julian Assange to the United States, and the prospects for reforming the act to reduce the harms it poses to American democracy.
Panellists include:
Sam Lebovic, Knight Institute Senior Visiting Research Scholar
Mary-Rose Papandrea, UNC Chapel Hill School of Law
Jeremy Scahill, The Intercept
Margaret Sullivan, The Guardian (US)
Katy Glenn Bass, Knight First Amendment Institute (moderator)
More details here
4. ‘Queen of Cuba’ with Peter Lapp
6 December
International Spy Museum, Washington DC, USA
Ana Montes had spent 17 years spying for the Cubans. She had been raised in a patriotic Puerto Rican household and impressed her bosses at the Defense Intelligence Agency, but in secret, spent her breaks memorizing top secret documents before sending them to the Cuban government.
Join International Spy Museum Historian and Curator Andrew Hammond live in conversation with retired FBI agent Peter Lapp, the author of Queen of Cuba: An FBI Agent's Insider Account of the Spy Who Evaded Detection for 17 Years for a discussion of this incredible case. They’ll discuss her motivation, the harm she did, and the clues—including never-released information—that led the FBI team to catch one of the United States’ most dangerous spies.
More details here
5. ‘A Frank and Open Discussion about the World of Spying’ with Alexis Albion
22 February
German Historical Institute, Washington DC, USA
Most of us are not privy to classified intelligence estimates, nor do we take part in clandestine operations around the world. Despite the secrecy that defines intelligence activities, there is a public image of intelligence, perhaps derived from imagination more than reality, but which nonetheless shapes opinions, beliefs, and expectations about that same reality. By watching, reading, writing, and brazenly talking about “spies” and “spying,” the public has engaged in conversations about national security, morality, and identity. Intelligence historians should take note of the social alongside the political and military impact of intelligence activities.
Dr Alexis Albion most recently served as Curator at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. Previously, she worked in the President’s Office at the World Bank Group and in the Office of Counterterrorism at the US State Department. She served on the staff of the 9/11 Commission, where she investigated and analyzed US counterterrorism policy and was a key drafter of the final report.
More details here
6. NASIH Brown Bag Lunches
5 December
Jimmy Burns
A Faithful Spy: A Biography of Walter Bell
23 January
Richard Aldrich and Rory Cormac
Crown, Cloak and Dagger: The British Monarchy and Secret Intelligence
13 February
Sean Brennan
The KGB and the Vatican: Secrets of the Mitrokhin Files
All brown bags take place on Tuesdays, 12:00 – 1:00 PM Eastern. Please note there is now an attendance fee for non-members. Registration details here
7. IHR Series on ‘Official Histories: Past, Present, and Future’
This online seminar series is sponsored by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Historians in partnership with History & Policy at the Institute of Historical Research (IHR). It seeks to explore the past, present and future of official history, examining its purpose and value, and asking whether there is a future for such an enterprise in the age of the 20-year rule and Freedom of Information. Intelligence-themed seminars include:
17 January
Writing the Authorised Histories of British Intelligence
Tony Comer, Chris Baxter, Mark Seaman
7 February
Writing the History of the Special Operations Executive
Rod Bailey, John Peaty
20 March
Writing the History of Secret Intelligence
Gill Bennett, Declan O’Reilly
More details here
OPPORTUNITIES & PUBLICATIONS
8. Call for Papers: Workshop on ‘Counterintelligence as Knowledge: Analysis and Assessment in Counterintelligence and Countering State Threats’
24 April 2024
Brunel University, London, UK
The Brunel Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies (BCISS) is calling for papers for a one day workshop on counterintelligence (CI) analysis and assessment. CI is typically thought of in terms investigations, protective security measures and securing prosecutions; in other words, catching spies. But counterintelligence is as much about intelligence as countering. And yet, while most discussions of CI agree that CI analysis, assessment and knowledge are frightfully important, they are almost never looked at in any detail.
BCISS intend to take a step towards remedying this. Counterintelligence as Knowledge will seek to develop practitioner-academic discussion of CI Analysis and Assessment through a one-day invitational workshop which will be conducted throughout under the Chatham House Rule. We are seeking papers on themes such as:
• The relationship, and balance of priorities between Analysis and Investigations in CI and countering state threats
• The role of CI/CST analysis and knowledge in strategic and operational as well as protective security policy
• The role of analytic methodologies and Structured Analytic Techniques in CI/CST
• Balancing need-to-know and need-to-share in CI/CST analysis and knowledge
• Commonalities and divergences between CI and ‘positive’ intelligence analysis and potentials for cross-fertilisation
• Historical and contemporary case-studies in CI/CST analysis and policy, operations and decision-making
Proposals and inquiries should be directed to Angeliki Martinou (Angeliki.Martinou2@brunel.ac.uk). The deadline for proposals is 15 January 2024.
9. Call for Papers: HistoCrypt 2024
25-27 June 2024
Kellogg College, Oxford and Bletchley Park, UK
The International Conference on Historical Cryptology (HistoCrypt) invites submissions of papers to its annual conference on historical cryptology. HistoCrypt addresses all aspects of historical cryptography and cryptanalysis. “History” is understood in the broadest sense and includes contemporary history. The conference’s subjects include, but are not limited to:
• the use of cryptography in the military, diplomacy, business, and other areas
• analysis of historical ciphers with the help of modern computerized methods
• unsolved historical cryptograms
• mechanical encryption machines
• the history of cryptology
• the roots of modern ciphers in historical cryptology
• linguistic aspects of cryptology
• the influence of cryptography on the course of history
• cryptology and its connections to neighbouring fields of study
• teaching and promoting cryptology in schools, universities, and the public
Both regular (up to 10 pages) and short (up to 4 pages) submissions are welcome, with a deadline of 28 January 2024. More details here
10. Call for Papers: IJICI Special Issue on ‘European Intelligence Education and Culture(s)’
Historically, intelligence studies focused on intelligence history, collection, analysis, cooperation, oversight, covert action, counterintelligence, education, diplomacy, producer-consumer relations, war, terrorism, security, and organizational culture. Today, we also increasingly discuss the inherent interdisciplinary character needed in intelligence research and practice and the confluence of new technologies and human innovation in creating resilient societies to the hybrid threats featured by the 21st-century landscape. On the one hand, intelligence research is involved in shaping better organizational, analytical, system, technological, and security practices, while intelligence education is expected to produce training programs that can respond to the challenges of a rapidly changing security landscape. Particular attention should be given to contributions that shed light on less known intelligence cultures, that provide comparative analysis of distinct cultures and/or to those that aim to discuss a common European core of intelligence education and culture.
Abstracts are due by 15 January2024, with the manuscript expected on 1 May. We welcome contributions that address the following questions/issues:
• how intelligence education in the 21st century can impact intelligence processes and practices
• new perspectives on intelligence theory and practice
• relevant results of completed or ongoing research projects in intelligence and security, with an added value to the current knowledge
• interrogations on the status quo of intelligence organizations, practices and processes
• drivers of change and reforms in intelligence organizations,
• development of a shared strategic cultural perspective, ethos and values
• how the profession of intelligence is likely to develop in the coming decades
• the role of education in shaping adaptive and competitive practitioners
More details here
11. Kjetil Hatlebrekke Memorial Book Prize
The Kjetil Hatlebrekke Memorial Book Prize is a biennial award recognising scholarship within the realm of global intelligence studies. It was set up by the King’s College Centre for the Study of Intelligence to honour the life and work of the late Dr Kjetil Anders Ely Hatlebrekke.
The Hatlebrekke Prize aims to recognise recent scholarship on intelligence operations, cultures and systems outside the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. It encourages scholars to go beyond traditional areas of inquiry and explore both how intelligence organisations and professionals conduct intelligence in Europe (excluding the UK), Africa, Asia and Latin America, and how that intelligence is applied in military operations, diplomacy and counter-terrorism.
The Kjetil Hatlebrekke prize committee is composed of representatives from the King’s Centre for the Study of Intelligence, the International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence, the University of Bath and the Norwegian Intelligence School. The Committee will consider monographs about intelligence in non-Five Eyes countries that have been published in 2022 and 2023. These works must be written in English to be eligible. The committee will accept self-nominations by authors as well as nominations by others. Nominations are due by 8 December.
More details here
12. KCSI Publications
Joe Devanny, Huw Dylan, and Elena Grossfeld, ‘Generative AI and Intelligence Assessment’, The RUSI Journal
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03071847.2023.2286775
David Easter, ‘State Department Cipher Machines and Communications Security in the Early Cold War, 1944-1965’, Intelligence and National Security
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02684527.2023.2269512
David Gioe, ‘It’s Time to Stop Debunking AI-Generated Lies and Start Identifying Truth’, RUSI Commentary
https://rusi.org/explore-our-research/publications/commentary/its-time-stop-debunking-ai-generated-lies-and-start-identifying-truth
David Schaefer, ‘Spies and Scholars in the Cyber Age: Researching Intelligence in Australian Policy and Regional Security’, Australian Journal of International Affairs
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10357718.2023.2279084
For more information about the privacy policy of the School of Security Studies and Public Policy, please visit:
https://www.kcl.ac.uk/sspp/departments/warstudies/about/dataprotection.aspx
Kind regards,
David Schaefer