Intelligence studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that concerns

intelligence assessment Intelligence assessment, or simply intel, is the development of behavior forecasts or recommended courses of action to the leadership of an organisation, based on wide ranges of available overt and covert information (intelligence). Assessments d ...

and

intelligence analysis Intelligence analysis is the application of individual and collective cognitive methods to weigh data and test hypotheses within a secret socio-cultural context. The descriptions are drawn from what may only be available in the form of deliberate ...

. Intelligence has been referred to as the "lost dimension" of the fields of

international relations International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such as ...

(IR) and

diplomatic history Diplomatic history deals with the history of international relations between states. Diplomatic history can be different from international relations in that the former can concern itself with the foreign policy of one state while the latter deals ...

, as the secretive nature of the subject means most intelligence successes are unknown. Among the

academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

s concentrating on the subject are the
Intelligence and National Security
and''
International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence
' while other periodicals in the fields of IR and

security studies __NOTOC__ Security studies, also known as international security studies, is an academic sub-field within the wider discipline of international relations that studies organized violence, military conflict, national security, and international s ...

, such as
International Security
', publish articles concerned with intelligence studies regularly. Many universities, such as

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth () is a university and seaside town as well as a community in Ceredigion, Wales. Located in the historic county of Cardiganshire, means "the mouth of the Ystwyth". Aberystwyth University has been a major educational location in ...

, teach intelligence studies as an independent degree or as part of courses in IR, security studies,

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

or related subjects.

Intelligence studies and international relations

Until recently, IR scholars had limited interest in intelligence assessment. Even historical strategists such as

Clausewitz Carl Philipp Gottfried (or Gottlieb) von Clausewitz (; 1 June 1780 – 16 November 1831) was a Prussian general and military theorist who stressed the "moral", in modern terms meaning psychological, and political aspects of waging war. His mos ...

and Machiavelli paid scant attention to intelligence. In British universities, intelligence studies developed within international history departments, while in US institutions it became the preserve of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, and even then the subject was approached in terms of

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

and decision-making rather than IR.Jackson and Scott, p. 174. Recently attempts to connect intelligence studies with

international relations theory International relations theory is the study of international relations (IR) from a theoretical perspective. It seeks to explain causal and constitutive effects in international politics. Ole Holsti describes international relations theories as a ...

have emerged, such as Andrew Rathmell's work on a

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of moderni ...

theory of intelligence. According to a 2020 forum in ''International Studies Review'', there are five factors that have generally been important in the development of intelligence studies subfields in different countries: "access to relevant government information, institutionalization of research on intelligence and security in a higher education setting, periodic scientific meetings and networks, teaching and learning opportunities, and engagement between researchers and practitioners."{{Cite journal, last=Van Puyvelde, first=Damien, last2=Wirtz, first2=James J., last3=Holeindre, first3=Jean-Vincent, last4=Oudet, first4=Benjamin, last5=Bar-Joseph, first5=Uri, last6=Kotani, first6=Ken, last7=Matei, first7=Florina Cristiana, last8=Fernández, first8=Antonio M. Díaz, date=2020-08-01, title=Comparing National Approaches to the Study of Intelligence, url=https://academic.oup.com/isp/article/21/3/298/5721760, journal=International Studies Perspectives, language=en, volume=21, issue=3, pages=298–337, doi=10.1093/isp/ekz031, issn=1528-3577

References

Bibliography

* Jackson, Peter and Scott, Len (2005). "Intelligence", ed. Finney, Patrick: ''Palgrave Advances in International History''. Palgrave Macmillan * Evans, Graham and Newnham, Jeffrey (1998). ''The Penguin Dictionary of International Relations''. Penguin

External links

Studies in Intelligence
on the

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

's website

Studies Study or studies may refer to: General * Education **Higher education * Clinical trial * Experiment * Observational study * Research * Study skills, abilities and approaches applied to learning Other * Study (art), a drawing or series of drawin ...