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

June 2026 Digest

Contents:

Events
Call for Papers
Conferences
Recent Publications
Podcasts

Events:

An Evening with Rory Cormac
2 June 2026
Waterstones – Gower Street, London, UK

Join us for an evening of intrigue, espionage, and deception with Rory Cormac and his book Fakers. Fakers reveals the rise and fall of the mavericks running Britain's Cold War forgery empire. Their secret mission was audacious: to disrupt and discredit adversaries across the world using phantom groups, fake sources, and counterfeit documents.

The newly declassified files expose an array of plots, some comically absurd and others dangerously controversial. The forgery empire impersonated everything from hippies and ghosts to Islamists and ballet composers in their campaign to smear hostile politicians, stir tensions among adversaries, and even stymie the career of a contentious British historian. All took place against a high stakes backdrop — both overseas as states competed beneath the looming threat of nuclear war and in the corridors of power at home where grey-suited bureaucrats circled, keen to shut down the team for good.

With timely insight into how propaganda works and how to respond to disinformation, Fakers is a thrilling journey into a secret world where nothing was as it seemed. Rory Cormac is a Professor of International Relations specialising in Secret Intelligence and Covert Action at the University of Nottingham. Alongside Richard J. Aldrich, he has researched and fronted two documentaries for Channel 4: Spying on the Royals (2017) and D-Day: The King who Fooled Hitler (2019). Rory has spoken at the UK Cabinet Office, Home Office and Ministry of Defence, as well as the US State Department and Pentagon.

More details here.

The Science of War
3 June 2026
Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham, UK

Is the human brain wired for conflict? Neuroscientist and adviser to the Pentagon Nicholas Wright and intelligence and security expert, former Director of GCHQ David Omand explore how our brains shape the way we perceive threats, trust allies and make high-stakes choices in moments of crisis in conversation with David Runciman.

How could leaders such as Winston Churchill see through the fog of conflict, make better decisions and communicate with those who must carry the decisions out? Why did France lose to the Nazis, despite its defenders having more tanks, troops and guns? Drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, intelligence experience and lessons from conflicts past and present, Nicholas and David reveal why smart leaders and nations can still make catastrophic mistakes and examine how we can all apply lessons from the battlefield to think more clearly and make better decisions under pressure.

More details here.

Russian Intelligence Tradecraft and Hybrid War with Sean Wiswesser
5 June 2026
Cambridge Intelligence Seminar, Online

The talk will focus on Russian intelligence tradecraft, both historic and modern. It will be based on content from his book out with Naval Institute Press this spring: Tradecraft, Tactics, and Dirty tricks: Russian intelligence and Putin’s Secret War. The presentation will focus on Russian hybrid war in all its aspects, including sabotage, assassinations, active measures, cyber, and information warfare. Sean will discuss its doctrinal grounding in what Russians call “non-contact warfare” and how the RIS’ roles complement those of the Russian armed forces, or in some cases, are meant to supplant them. His book focuses on 10 aspects of Russian intelligence tradecraft, both traditional “sticks and bricks” as well as grey-zone, or what the Russians call “new generation warfare.” As a member of the CIA’s expert cadre in the Directorate of Operations, Sean worked closely with the U.S. intelligence community and foreign allies on Russian cases, gaining a unique perspective on the RIS’ global reach. Sean sat across from Russian assets for years debriefing them as a case officer. Now, he shares that knowledge in a candid, plain-speaking style designed to inform and galvanize audiences from all walks of life in lectures and media appearances.

More details here.

IWP Student Speaker Series: Terrence Matsuo on Japanese HUMINT
9 June 2026
The Institute of World Politics, Washington D.C.

Join Terrence Matsuo as he examines Japan’s intelligence evolution, HUMINT gaps, and efforts towards reform. This lecture examines the historical evolution of Japan’s intelligence community, tracing its development from the era of Imperial Japan through the postwar period and into the present day. During the period of the Empire of Japan, military intelligence and covert operational capabilities were relatively well developed; however, intelligence did not constitute a central pillar of national security policy.

In the aftermath of World War II, efforts to establish a Japanese centralized intelligence service comparable to the Central Intelligence Agency were ultimately unsuccessful, largely due to domestic concerns regarding political repression and the legacy of wartime authoritarianism. The lecture further analyzes the structure and capabilities of contemporary Japanese intelligence institutions. While modern Japan possesses advanced technical and signals intelligence capacities, its human intelligence (HUMINT) capabilities remain comparatively underdeveloped. In light of the evolving regional security environment, recent statements by Sanae Takaichi expressing interest in strengthening and reforming Japan’s intelligence framework signal a potentially significant shift in national security policy. Overall, the lecture will provide a comparative and historical assessment of Japan’s intelligence institutions, evaluating both structural constraints and emerging reform efforts within the broader context of regional security dynamics.

Terrence Matsuo is a student in the graduate certificate program at The Institute of World Politics. He is also a Non-Resident Fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America (KEI), where he publishes reports on the U.S.-Korea alliance and Korea-Japan relations. Previously, he was a journalist and supported reporting at outlets including NK News, the Nelson Report, and the Asahi Shimbun. Terrence received his Master of Public Policy degree from the School of Public Policy at Pepperdine University. He previously received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where he majored in Japanese Language and Literature and Political Science with a minor in American Studies.

More details here.

The Shifting Art and Science of Intelligence Analysis
10 June 2026
Johns Hopkins, Online

Join MS in Intelligence Analysis Program Director Michael Ard as he hosts Kris Lee, president of ArtSci AI, a knowledge workflow design firm that helps intelligence teams put AI to work responsibly and effectively. Lee brings more than 25 years of CIA experience as an all-source analyst, senior analytic methodologist, chief of OSINT reporting and exploitation, and advanced workflows and AI integration lead. His work focuses on digitizing tradecraft to translate expert analytic methods into structured, AI-augmented workflows that allow teams to produce timely, defensible intelligence at scale.

More details here.

Human Intelligence Spying in the US-Mexican War
10 June 2026
The International Spy Museum, Washington, D.C. and Online

The US-Mexican War permanently reshaped the map of North America and marked a major turning point in the nation’s expansion. It was one of the nation’s first extended campaigns on foreign soil and human intelligence was a key element of American military success.

The War was a short but consequential conflict in American history. Lasting roughly 26 months from 1846 to 1848 and fought across three theaters of operations, it carried US forces from northern Mexico to Mexico City and across New Mexico and California. By the war’s end, the United States had acquired nearly one million square miles of territory through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, including what are now California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas, as well as portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada. Intelligence efforts proved critical to that success. Join us as retired US Army historian and author of The Occupation of Mexico Stephen A. Carney explores the patchwork of traders, scouts, guides, couriers, friendly civilians, and paid informants who helped the US Army operate across vast distances and unfamiliar terrain. He’ll pay particular attention to Winfield Scott’s campaign against Mexico City and to the organization of the Dominguez Spy Company, often referred to as the Mexican Spy Company.

More details here.

Breakfast Briefing: Japan’s Intelligence Reforms – Paradise Lost?
15 June 2026
RUSI, London, UK

Japan has been termed a ‘spy paradise’ because of its constrained counter-espionage capabilities. It made its way through the Cold War with neither a proper foreign intelligence service nor even an anti-espionage law. However, all this is set to change with an ambitious set of reforms under Prime Minister Takaichi, which will make Japan a much more formidable target and actor in the world of intelligence. The first bill on re-organizing the centralization of intelligence in government has passed its upper house approval. The second bill will produce an ‘anti-spy’ law, designed to protect Japan’s secrets and make it resilient against foreign interference. Ultimately, and probably in 2027, Japan will establish a foreign intelligence service and a central intelligence training center.

What does this tell us about the evolving intelligence environment and the changing role of Japan? In this briefing, the panelists will tell the story of how Japan came to be in this situation and address the challenges facing the Japanese government as they establish an up-to-date intelligence apparatus, with capabilities adapted to the best available lessons learned and technological developments.

More details here.

Spies and Spycraft of the American Revolution
17 June 2026
Massanutten Central Library, Harrisonburg, VA

"Washington did not really outfight the British, he simply outspied us.” That’s what London newspapers reported after the defeat of the British Army. So, what was the intelligence that General Washington collected? Where did it come from? Who were his spies? And how do we know about these shadowy figures 250 years later? Join Amanda A. Ohlke from the International Spy Museum for a discussion of spies from the members of the Culper Ring, made famous by the television series "Turn," to James Lafayette, an enslaved African American who worked with the Marquis de Lafayette to outwit the British General Cornwallis.

More details here.

Technology and the Changing Nature of Covert Action
11 June 2026
King’s College London, London, UK

We’re delighted to welcome Professor Richard J. Aldrich, Professor of International Security at the University of Warwick, for the upcoming Dockrill Lecture: Technology and the Changing Nature of Covert Action. In this lecture, Professor Richard J. Aldrich explores the evolving landscape of international relations in the tech age. As a leading expert in cybersecurity and an award-winning spy writer, Professor Aldrich delves into the complexities of covert action in the digital era. With his extensive expertise at the intersection of technology, intelligence and security, he offers unique insights into how emerging technologies are reshaping the way nations conduct covert operations.

We associate technology with sophistication and higher civilization. So why are international relations in the tech age so barbaric? Professor Aldrich suggests that we are entering a new era of covert action that has been expanded and transformed by science, technology and cyber. We are now in a period of performative assassinations, signature drone strikes, AI driven disinformation campaigns and sabotage by privateers recruited online, together with the significant expansion of shadowy units devoted to this work. These burgeoning activities often exist at the liminal boundary of secrecy and in different spaces to the sorts of classic projects once performed by the para-military elements of spy agencies like the CIA. Digital disruption has also subverted many of the intellectual categories and organizational boundaries in this realm, including the divide between state and non-state.

Advanced technology does not result in the emergence of new norms of practice but accelerating cycles of performative violence used to create fear and intimidation. We may well be witnessing the emergence of a different and more distasteful style of conducting international affairs.

More details here.

Call for Papers:

Annual Conference of the “Critical Security Studies” Working Group of the German Political Science Association (DVPW)
Proposals Due: 16 June 2026
Conference: 5-6 November 2026
Location Heidelberg, Germany

The field of Critical Security Studies (CSS) brings together diverse perspectives on the politics and practices of (in)security. What these approaches share is, above all, a commitment to moving beyond classical, often narrow frameworks that focus on military (national) security alone. Taking up a critical impetus, a central epistemological interest often lies in examining how social and political power relations produce and reconfigure the form and function of security institutions and security discourses, and the normative implications arising thereby. The field is inherently interdisciplinary; contributions stem not only from International Relations and other subfields of political science, but also from criminology, sociology, law, geography, or history.

Against this backdrop, contemporary dynamics of (in)security can be productively approached through the lenses of crisis, war, and critique. On the one hand, current geopolitical ruptures and the return of major interstate wars challenge core assumptions of critical security studies. After all, this field of research emerged in the aftermath of the Cold War, when the end of the bloc confrontation and its immediate military risks led to the expansion of security discourses and practices into other areas – from the environment, to development, and migration. On the other hand, these concepts not only capture key contemporary empirical developments but also serve as analytical entry points for interrogating how security is constructed, contested, and transformed. Crisis, for example, has become a central frame through which a wide range of developments are interpreted, from migration and climate change to economic instability and democratic backsliding. Critical security perspectives examine how labeling situations as “crises” shapes political responses, enables exceptional measures, and redistributes attention and resources, often with uneven effects across different populations. Such exceptional measures like war – currently most visible in Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, but also in other conflicts that receive less international attention – are embedded in broader social, political, and economic dynamics such as sanctions regimes, humanitarian governance, the use of AI and media representations, and shifting security alignments within and beyond Europe. To scrutinize the practices in crisis and war becomes particularly relevant, as both are contexts within which security claims are increasingly invoked to justify far-reaching policies, from military spending to border controls and surveillance. Critique raises questions about whose insecurities are addressed, whose are overlooked, and how alternative responses might be imagined in the face of intersecting global challenges.

Key questions that emerge from these considerations are:

How are contemporary “crises” mobilized in political discourse to legitimize specific security practices, and what are the consequences for different social groups?
What are critical methodologies in CSS today?
How do CSS scholars conceive of “crises” in conceptual terms (i.e., multispecies politics and planetary dimensions)? Which role do scale, and temporalities play therein?
How do the wars in Ukraine, Gaza or Iran – and their global repercussions – reshape understandings of security, solidarity, and exclusion in Europe and beyond?
How do we conceive of critical theorizing and critique in times of war and crisis? What are the potentials and limits of critique in times of war and crisis? How may it risk being sidelined, co-opted, or instrumentalised within prevailing security discourses?

While we particularly welcome contributions that reflect on crisis, war, and critique from a critical security perspective, contributions may address a wide range of topics and perspectives and explore innovative approaches or intersections with other fields and disciplines, since the conference seeks to foster exchange and networking within the broader field. We explicitly encourage early career scholars to apply. Conference presentations may be based on papers / chapters addressing specific research questions; however, a full traditional academic conference paper is not required. Papers may be presented in German or English. Please submit proposals for conference contributions (max. 200 words) by June 16, 2026 to: kritischesicherheitsstudien@dvpw.de.

More details here.

Bobby R. Inman Award for Student Scholarship
University of Texas at Austin
Submissions Due: 30 June 2026

The Inman Award competition is designed to recognize outstanding research and writing by students at the undergraduate or graduate levels on topics related to intelligence and national security. There is no prescribed topic or format. However, there is a limit on the essay length (less than 50 pages). It is presumed that most papers will have been prepared to satisfy a course or degree requirement of the author’s academic program. The award recognizes more than six decades of distinguished public service by Bobby R. Inman, Admiral, U.S. Navy (Ret.). Admiral Inman served in multiple leadership positions in the U.S. military, intelligence community, private industry, and at The University of Texas. His previous intelligence posts include Director of Naval Intelligence, Vice-Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, Director of the National Security Agency, and Deputy Director of Central Intelligence. He continues to serve as an advisor and mentor to UT students and faculty members, and current government officials.

All undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at an accredited U.S. higher education institution during the 2025-26 academic year are eligible to participate. A student may submit only one paper that has not been published previously. Co-authored and “team project” papers will be accepted. Full, unedited PhD dissertations will no longer be reviewed in connection with the competition. Doctoral candidates (or recent PhD recipients) are encouraged to select and submit an edited chapter or chapters from their dissertation to the competition.

More details here.

Conflict Early Warning in Times of Power Competition: Limits and Challenges
Abstracts Due: 30 June 2026
Notified of acceptance: 31 July 2026
Conference: 13-14 October 2026
University of the Bundeswehr Munich, Germany

We are pleased to invite contributions to the CCEW Symposium 2026 on “Conflict Early Warning in Times of Power Competition – Limits and Challenges”. This year’s event deals with implications of recent global developments for conflict early warning needs and practices. Further it focusses on power competitions that affect different stakeholders in conflict early warning in different ways.

The CCEW Symposium has three aims:

Strengthening interdisciplinary research to enhance predictive capabilities.
Fostering data-driven strategies for crisis early warning and strategic foresight within conflict research.
Establishing a collaborative space for academia, practitioners, and decision-makers.

We invite empirical, conceptual, and theoretical papers from scholars at all career stages that address the following topics:

Conflict early warning in times of geopolitical competition and shifting conflict dynamics
Hybrid threats and their implications for conflict early warning
Data-related challenges and the use of unstructured data (e.g. text, images) for conflict analysis and prediction
Innovative approaches to data generation and model design for the study of conflict, political violence, and instability

Interested scholars should submit an abstract of max. 300 words and a short bio via kompzkfe+symposium@unibw.de until June 30, 2026.

More details here.

The Israeli Intelligence Studies Conference 2026: Intelligence under Pressure
Abstracts Due: 31 July 2026
Conference: 4 November 2026
Jerusalem, Israel

Intelligence institutions today operate under conditions of sustained and compounding pressure. Political actors increasingly seek to instrumentalise assessments to legitimize predetermined policy positions, eroding the analytical independence that underpins institutional credibility. A broader crisis of trust — between agencies and the publics they serve, between allied partners, and within government itself — has further complicated the conditions under which intelligence can be produced and acted upon. Meanwhile, the shift from strategic to tactical and operational support has strained agencies designed for a different era, while the proliferation of artificial intelligence and open-source data has disrupted longstanding methodological assumptions, creating new capabilities alongside new vectors for error and overreliance. This conference explores the theme “Intelligence Under Pressure”: how agencies sustain analytical rigor, institutional independence, and operational relevance when the conditions for doing so are most adverse — and what is at stake for national security and democratic governance when they do not.

We encourage submissions addressing the following issues, but not limited to them:

• The politics of intelligence (e.g., intelligence-policy relations, intelligence oversight, state inquiries, public trust)
• Technological, methodological, and cultural dimensions of early warning & intelligence collection, analysis, and operations
• State intelligence relations with the private sector & civil society
• Legal frameworks and ethical boundaries
• Intelligence education for students & practitioners

We also invite nominations of excellent research in Intelligence Studies (IS) for the following awards:

• Best Book (or monograph dissertation)
• Best Peer-Reviewed Article
• Best Graduate Paper

* Please limit award nominations to manuscripts focusing/commenting on Israeli intelligence or written by Israeli-based scholars ** Manuscripts must be published/accepted/graded after August 2025 *** Manuscripts to be sent as PDF, and for graduate papers please include a letter of reference from supervisor(s) **** A single nomination per author is permitted

More details here.

Conferences:

Intelligence College Europe Academic Conference: Science and Intelligence
17-19 June 2026
University of the Bundeswehr, Munich, Germany

The ICE Academic Conference is held under the auspices of the rotating Presidency of the Intelligence College in Europe, in close consultation with its Academic Advisory Board. Previous conferences took place in Salamanca under the Spanish Presidency in 2024 and in Bucharest under the Romanian Presidency in 2023.

The 2026 Academic Conference will be hosted under the German Presidency at the University of the Bundeswehr in Munich, from 17–19 June 2026. It responds to the growing need for scholarly engagement with intelligence and security matters by bringing together experts on Intelligence and Security Studies in a pan-European academic context. The conference aims to boost the development of Intelligence Studies as an academic discipline in Europe and to establish ICE as one of the central nodes in the European Intelligence Studies network.

More details here.

AIPIO Annual Intelligence Conference: Intelligence in Action – Strategy to Delivery
26-28 August 2026
Sofitel Melbourne on Collins, Melbourne, Australia

Following the success of Intelligence 2025 in Sydney, AIPIO is proud to bring Australia’s intelligence community together once again for the 35th Annual AIPIO Intelligence Conference in 2026 to be held in Melbourne. In a world defined by accelerating risk, geopolitical uncertainty and rapid technological change, intelligence must evolve from informing awareness to driving purposeful action. This year’s conference explores how intelligence professionals transform strategic insight into real-world outcomes that enable decision-making, strengthen resilience and deliver mission success.

The Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers (AIPIO) is committed to advancing intelligence as a recognized profession of national importance. Through collaboration, professional development and thought leadership, AIPIO strengthens the capability and connectedness of intelligence practitioners across Australia and beyond.

Intelligence 2026 is more than a conference — it is a forum for capability development, strategic insight, and shared professional standards that strengthen decision-making across the intelligence community.

Insight alone is no longer enough. Intelligence must guide strategy, enable action and deliver outcomes. This year’s conference examines how intelligence functions bridge the gap between analysis and execution: turning knowledge into operational effect across security, government and industry missions. From strategic foresight to operational delivery, Intelligence 2026 focuses on practical capability and performance: how intelligence improves decisions that matter. The found interconnected themes for the 2026 program include:

Operational Agility: Intelligence must move at the speed of decision-making. This theme explores adaptive tradecraft, real-time analysis, and the integration of AI and automation to improve responsiveness and clarity under pressure.
Partnerships: Partnership is now a strategic capability. Intelligence impact depends on trusted collaboration across agencies, sectors and borders. This theme highlights frameworks that break down silos and enable secure shared outcomes.
Impact and Integration: Intelligence must shape action, not observation. This theme examines how intelligence is embedded into planning, operations and risk management to influence outcomes and enable confident decisions.
Developing your Tradecraft: Professional mastery is essential. This theme strengthens analytical skills, structured thinking, leadership, and applied intelligence methodologies that adapt to evolving complexity.

More details here.