The Diplomat, the Military and the Spy

Since its creation in the United States in the 1950s, Intelligence studies has remained relatively marginal in (and developed in parallel to) the fields of the Foreign Policy Analysis, Security Studies and, more broadly, International Relations. 

In light of the reconfigurations of the contemporary strategic environment, intelligence can no longer be the “missing link” since it plays a key role in the formulation and implementation of states’ external action.

Accordingly, this research group aims to investigate the link between diplomacy, defense policy and intelligence in the formulation of states’ external action.

This holistic approach to the external action of the State is intended to shed light on the variety of actors, on their (cooperative/competitive) relationships and on their respective influence in the decision-making process. Within the diplomacy/defense/intelligence triangle, the role and influence of each actor (or group of actors) is likely to vary across issue areas and over time.

In order to explore the reciprocal influences between these three poles (diplomacy, defense and intelligence), this research group brings together academics working on the sociology of diplomatic practices, foreign policy analysis, strategic studies and intelligence studies.

With the support of the CAPS of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the program consists of five annual sessions, open to the public of CERI, gathering leading European scholars in the study of foreign policy, defense and intelligence. It thereby aims to foster fruitful exchanges on this under-explored dimension of states’ external action and of the differing yet complementary methods of analysis which can be leveraged by scholars to investigate these interactions.  

Sciences Po-CERI Online Seminar Series 2022
Intelligence and Statecraft 

Abstract: Statecraft is the art of conducting state affairs in world politics. It encompasses a variety of levers such as diplomacy, defence policy, and economic statecraft which, in turn, rely on the analysis and covert operations by national intelligence agencies in support of the State’s policy goals. Yet, the role of intelligence in shaping Statecraft remains ill understood. The levers of Statecraft have long been studied in parallel silos and, today, little dialogue exists between the fields of Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA), Security Studies, and International Political Economy on the one hand, and Intelligence Studies on the other. The goal of this seminar series is to investigate how intelligence activities—including both analysis and covert operations—shape Statecraft but also how the latter can orient the activities of the former. The assessment of the intentions and capabilities of foreign actors by national intelligence agencies often informs the choices of both diplomats and the military. At the same time, covert operations—including coups d’état, support for foreign insurgencies, targeted killings, influence operations, etc.—should be assessed in relation to the broader foreign policy goals of the State, namely whether they complement and support ‘overt’ governmental policies or instead work at cross purposes with them.  To shed light on the synergies and mutual interactions between Statecraft and intelligence, this seminar series brings together political scientists, historians, and investigative journalists to examine both historical and contemporary case studies through a variety of methods and sources, including archival research, interviews, and open-source intelligence (OSINT), among others. These cases are organized in two thematic areas: (i) Intelligence analysis: assessing the intentions and capabilities of foreign leaders; and (ii) Covert operations and Statecraft. By fostering synergies across disciplinary boundaries and research methods, this seminar series aims to enrich the current understanding of this neglected dimension of Statecraft.

Time: Tuesdays, 5:00 pm
Format: Webinar