Brian Rossiter Crozier (4 August 1918, in

Shire of Cloncurry The Shire of Cloncurry is a Local government in Australia, local government area in North West Queensland, Australia. It covers an area of , and has existed as a local government entity since 1884. The major town and administrative centre of the ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

– 4 August 2012) was a historian, propagandist and journalist. He was also one of the central staff members of a secret propaganda department belonging to the UK Foreign Office, known as the

Information Research Department The Information Research Department (IRD) was a secret Cold War propaganda department of the British Foreign Office, created to publish anti-communist propaganda, including black propaganda, provide support and information to anti-communist pol ...

(IRD) which republished and supported much of his work,

Early life

Crozier was born in a small village in Australia, where his father worked as mining engineer. In 1923 his family moved to France. In 1930, it moved to England, where he received a scholarship to study piano and composition at the

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

in London. Early in

life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...

he believed in

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, as a reaction to the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and to

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

, but he later changed his philosophy and worked to combat communism. D'Agostino, Joseph (Nov. 26, 1999)
"Conservative Spotlight: Brian Crozier."
''

Human Events ''Human Events'' is an American conservative political news and analysis website. Founded in 1944 as a print newspaper, ''Human Events'' became a digital-only publication in 2013. ''Human Events'' takes its name from the first sentence of the Un ...

''. p. 24. .

Career

Crozier eventually became interested in journalism and pursued a career that led him to become a foreign correspondent for

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was estab ...

, a columnist for ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

,'' a reporter for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

and, during a brief return to Australia, a writer for ''

Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper i ...

''.Rees, David (Dec. 31, 1985). "Student of Subversion." ''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...

'', vol. 37. pp. 106+. — via Gale General OneFile. Crozier worked as the director of '' Forum World Features'', set up in 1966 by the

Congress for Cultural Freedom The Congress for Cultural Freedom (CCF) was an anti-communist advocacy group founded in 1950. At its height, the CCF was active in thirty-five countries. In 1966 it was revealed that the CIA was instrumental in the establishment and funding of the ...

, which had ties to the American

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...

(CIA). While editing the ''Economists "insider" news sheet ''Foreign Report'', Crozier, as he later recorded in his memoirs, kept some of the best stories that reached him for the CIA. He stated in 1975 that ''Forum World Features'' had broken all ties to the CIA when he became its director in the 1960s. In 1970, Crozier founded the

Institute for the Study of Conflict An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

, based in London, to study insurgencies and

terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...

. He presided over it for most of the 1970s. According to a profile written by David Rees in 1985 for the American fortnightly ''

'' "the Institute... was the first private think-tank devoted to the study of terrorism and subversion". Under his direction (he left in 1979) the institute specialised in the study of the "peacetime" strategy of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. Its analyses, including the ''Annual of Power and Conflict'', which it published for ten years, have been used in war colleges throughout

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

. For many years, Crozier wrote a regular column, "The Protracted Conflict", in the ''

''. Joseph D'Agostino of ''Human Events'' stated, "Crozier has another distinction: in 1988 he appeared in the ''

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

'' for having interviewed the most heads of state or government, 58 in all". Crozier provided advice to the British

Secret Intelligence Service The Secret Intelligence Service (SIS), commonly known as MI6 ( Military Intelligence, Section 6), is the foreign intelligence service of the United Kingdom, tasked mainly with the covert overseas collection and analysis of human intelligenc ...

, to the

(IRD) of the British Foreign Office, and to the CIA. Lecturing to Britain's staff college for army officers during the early 1970s, when the Labour Party was in power under

Harold Wilson James Harold Wilson, Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, (11 March 1916 – 24 May 1995) was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from October 1964 to June 1970, and again from March 1974 to April 1976. He ...

, Crozier stated if the government went "too far", it was the armed forces' duty to intervene (he claimed that he was enthusiastically applauded). In 1982, it was revealed from the papers of a former Bavarian state security chief, Hans Langemann, that Crozier was an attendant of

Le Cercle Le Cercle is a secretive, invitation-only foreign policy forum. Its focus has been opposing communism and, in the 1970s and 1980s, supporting apartheid when the group had intimate ties with and funding from South Africa. The group was described by ...

and headed a secret international group that tried to influence the West German federal election of 1980 by using secret-service connections and cover-up financial transactions to make Franz Josef Strauß Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany. Crozier was a co-founder of the group ''The 61'', an organisation that wanted to counter Soviet communist propaganda.

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...

published Crozier's autobiography, ''Free Agent: The Unseen War 1941–1991'', in 1993, which was revised and corrected in paperback edition in 1994. Crozier was a Distinguished Visiting Fellow on War, Revolution, and Peace of the

Hoover Institution The Hoover Institution (officially The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution, and Peace; abbreviated as Hoover) is an American public policy think tank and research institution that promotes personal and economic liberty, free enterprise, and ...

. He was also a member of the international advisory council of the

Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation The Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) is a non-profit anti-communist organization in the United States, authorized by a unanimous Act of Congress in 1993 for the purpose of "educating Americans about the ideology, history and legacy ...

. In 1985, he signed a petition in support for the far-right paramilitary

Contras The Contras were the various U.S.-backed and funded right-wing rebel groups that were active from 1979 to 1990 in opposition to the Marxist Sandinista Junta of National Reconstruction Government in Nicaragua, which came to power in 1979 fol ...

(

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

Personal life

Crozier was married twice. He had three daughters (Kathryn-Anne, Isobel and Caroline) and a son (Michael). He died on 4 August 2012 after a long illness at 94. Norton-Taylor, Richard (Aug. 9, 2012)
"Brian Crozier"
(

obituary An obituary ( obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Ac ...

). ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. .

Selected works

Books

* ''The Rebels: A Study of Postwar Insurrections''. Boston:

Beacon Press Beacon Press is an American left-wing non-profit book publisher. Founded in 1854 by the American Unitarian Association, it is currently a department of the Unitarian Universalist Association. It is known for publishing authors such as James B ...

(1960). . * ''The Morning After: A Study of Independence''. London: Methuen (1963). . * ''South East Asia in Turmoil''. London:

Penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

(1965). . * ''The Struggle for the Third World''. Chester Springs, Penn.: Dufour Editions (1966). . * ''Franco: A Biographical History''. Boston:

Little, Brown Little, Brown and Company is an American publishing company founded in 1837 by Charles Coffin Little and James Brown in Boston. For close to two centuries it has published fiction and nonfiction by American authors. Early lists featured Emily D ...

(1967). . * ''Masters of Power''. Boston:

(1969). . * ''Since Stalin: An Assessment of Communist Power''. New York: Coward-McCann (1970). . * ''De Gaulle''. New York:

Charles Scribner's Sons Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

(1973). . * ''A Theory of Conflict''. New York:

(1974). . * ''The Man Who Lost China: The First Full Biography of Chiang Kai-shek''. New York:

(1976). . * ''Strategy of Survival''. London:

Temple Smith Temple Ferris Smith (born March 7, 1939) is an emeritus professor in biomedical engineering who helped to develop the Smith-Waterman algorithm with Michael Waterman in 1981. The Smith-Waterman algorithm serves as the basis for multi sequence comp ...

(1978). . * ''This War Called Peace'', with Drew Middleton and Jeremy Murray-Brown. Universe Books (1985). . * ''The Gorbachev Phenomenon: Peace and the Secret War''. Great Britain: Claridge Press (1990). .
''Free Agent: The Unseen War, 1941-1991''
London:

(1993). . * ''The KGB Lawsuits''. Great Britain: Claridge Press (1995). . * ''The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Empire''. Rocklin, Calif.: Forum, with ''

'' (1999). .
''The Other Brian Croziers''.
Great Britain: Claridge Press (2002). .
''Political Victory: The Elusive Prize of Military Wars''.
New Jersey:

Transaction Publishers Transaction Publishers was a New Jersey-based publishing house that specialized in social science books and journals. It was located on the Livingston Campus of Rutgers University. Transaction was sold to Taylor & Francis in 2016 and merged with ...

(2005). .

Book contributions

* "South-East Asia" (Chapter 6). In: ''The Cold War: A Reappraisal'', by

Evan Luard David Evan Trant Luard (31 October 1926 – 8 February 1991), most commonly known as Evan Luard, was a British Labour Party and Social Democratic Party (SDP) politician, and a renowned international relations scholar. Education and early care ...

. New York: Praeger (1964). .
"Der Spiegel: Confirmation from the East."
In: ''Counter Culture, vol. 2'', by Sir James Goldsmith (1993), pp. 99–105.

Articles

* "The Diem Regime in Southern Vietnam." ''

Far Eastern Survey ''Asian Survey: A Bimonthly Review of Contemporary Asian Affairs'' is a bimonthly academic journal of Asian studies published by the University of California Press on behalf of the Institute of East Asian Studies at the University of California ...

'', vol. 24, no. 4 (Apr. 1955), pp. 49–56. .
"The International Situation in Indochina."
'' Pacific Affairs'', vol. 29, no. 4 (Dec. 1956), pp. 309–323. . * "France and Algeria," with

Gerard Mansell Gerard Evelyn Herbert "Gerry" Mansell (16 February 1921 – 18 December 2010) was a BBC executive, most famous for reorganising BBC Radio into Radio 2, 3 and 4 as controller of the BBC Home Service, and for a political conflict early in Mar ...

. '' International Affairs'', bol. 36, no. 3 (July 1960), pp. 310–321. . A discussion at Chatham House, March 8, 1960.
"Peking and the Laotian Crisis: An Interim Appraisal."
'' China Quarterly'', no. 7 (Jul./Sep. 1961), pp. 128–137. .
"Indonesia: Retrospect and Prospect."
'' World Today'', vol. 18, no. 7 (July 1962), pp. 295–304. .
"Peking and the Laotian Crisis: A Further Appraisal."
'' China Quarterly'', no. 11 (Jul./Sep. 1962), pp. 116–123. .
"The Communist Struggle for Power in Burma."
'' World Today'', vol. 20, no. 3 (Mar. 1964), pp. 105–112. . * "The Struggle for the Third World." '' International Affairs'', vol. 40, no. 3 (Jul. 1964), pp. 440–452. . * "Latin America." '' Encounter'' (Feb. 1965). * "The Study of Conflict." ''Institute for the Study of Conflict'' (1967). * "The Conflict of Information: 'Detente', Freedom & Constraint," with Leonid Vladimirov. ''Conflict Studies'' (1975). Institute for the Study of Conflict. . .
"Russia's Revolutionary Base."
''New Lugano Review'', vol. 2, no. 8-12 (1976).
"My Pilgrimage to Kent (Connecticut)."
''New Lugano Review'', vol. 2, no. 11-12 (1976). pp. 8–24.
"Pour une bribe d'empire."
''Revue des Deux Mondes'' (Apr. 1989), pp. 249–253. . * "Creating 'A Lot on Her Hands,'" with Helen Gregory. '' Labour History'', no. 85 (Nov. 2003), pp. 89–101. .

Reports

* ''The Ulster Debate: Report of a Study Group of the Institute for the Study of Conflict'' (1972), with James Camlin Beckett and

Robert Moss Robert Moss, born in Melbourne (Victoria) in 1946, is an Australian historian, journalist and author and the creator of Active Dreaming, an original synthesis of dreamwork and shamanism. Biography Early life and education Moss survived severa ...

. London: The Bodley Head for the Institute for the Study of Conflict. .

Book reviews

* Review of ''La Fin d'une guerre: Indochine 1954,'' by Jean Lacouture & Philippe Devillers. '' International Affairs'', vol. 37, no. 2 (Apr. 1961), pp. 264–265. . * Review of ''Indonesia: A Profile'', by Jeane S. Mintz. '' Pacific Affairs'', vol. 35, no. 2 (Summer 1962), pp. 184–185. . * Review of ''The Story of Indonesia'', by Louis Fischer; ''The Beginnings of the Indonesian-Dutch Negotiations and the Hoge Veluwe Talks'', by Idrus Nasir Djajadiningrat. '' Pacific Affairs'', vol. 35, no. 2 (Summer 1962), pp. 185–186. .

In the media

Crozier was interviewed for a 1999 film by Peter Graves for

A&E Network A&E is an American basic cable network, the flagship television property of A&E Networks. The network was originally founded in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network, initially focusing on fine arts, documentaries, television drama, dramas, and ...

's '' Biography'' series, ''Chiang Kai-shek: The Battle for China'', including other contributors such as

John Stewart Service John Stewart Service (August 3, 1909 – February 3, 1999) was an American diplomat who served in the Foreign Service in China prior to and during World War II. Considered one of the State Department's "China Hands", he was an important member ...

.''Chiang Kai-shek: The Battle for China''
(1999). Peter Graves and A&E. — vi
Henry Carter Hull Library.
/ref> He also appeared in ''

The Mayfair Set ''The Mayfair Set'', subtitled ''Four Stories about the Rise of Business and the Decline of Political Power'', is a BBC television documentary series by filmmaker Adam Curtis. It explores the decline of Britain as a world power, the proliferatio ...

'', a 1999 four-part documentary series about the rise of business and the decline of political power, written and directed by Adam Curtis for

. He appeared in episode three, "Destroy the Technostructure," which Curtis described as "the story of how Sir James Goldsmith, through a series of corporate raids, became one of the world's richest men and a victim of his own success."

References

Bibliography *Bellamy, Chris (Aug. 13, 2012)
"Brian Crozier: Intelligence and security expert who fought communism and founded his own spy network"
(

). '' The Independent''. Archived fro
the original.

External links

*
Brian Crozier papers
at th
Hoover Institution Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crozier, Brian 1918 births 2012 deaths British foreign policy writers British historians The Economist people Australian emigrants to the United Kingdom Australian expatriates in France Place of death missing British anti-communists Historians of Francoist Spain