Spying on the World: The Declassified Documents of the Joint Intelligence Committee, 1936-2013 - Softcover

Aldrich, Richard J.; Cormac, Rory; Goodman, Michael S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0748678573 ISBN 13: 9780748678570

Publisher: Edinburgh University Press, 2014

Synopsis

For more than half a century, the Joint Intelligence Committee or ‘JIC’ has been a central component of the British Government’s secret machinery. It represents the highest authority in the world of intelligence and acts as a broker between the spy and the policy-maker. From WWII to the War in Iraq, and from the Falklands to the IRA, it has been involved in almost every key foreign policy decision. This book reveals the declassified papers of the JIC, shining a light on the workings of Whitehall’s secret world and the vital, previously unknown, role played by intelligence in pivotal events across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

About this title

About the Authors

Richard J. Aldrich is Professor of International Security at the University of Warwick and Director of the Institute of the Advanced Study. His books include GCHQ: the Uncensored Story of Britain’s Most Secret Intelligence Agency (Harper Collins, 2010).

Rory Cormac is a lecturer in international relations at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of Confronting the Colonies: British Intelligence and Counterinsurgency (Hurst, 2013).

Michael S. Goodman is Professor of Intelligence and International Affairs in the Department of War Studies, King's College London and Visiting Professor at the Norwegian Defence Intelligence School. He has published widely in the field of intelligence history, including most recently The Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee, Volume I: From the Approach of the Second World War to the Suez Crisis (Routledge, 2015), which was chosen as one of The Spectator’s books of the year. He is series editor for Intelligence and Security for Hurst/Columbia University Press; and for Intelligence, Surveillance and Secret Warfare for Edinburgh University Press; and is a member of the editorial boards for five journals. He is currently on secondment to the Cabinet Office where he is the Official Historian of the Joint Intelligence Committee.

From the Back Cover

A fascinating documentary history of the role of intelligence in key twentieth and twenty-first Century eventsFor more than half a century, the Joint Intelligence Committee or ‘JIC’ has been a central component of the British Government’s secret machinery, representing the highest authority in the world of intelligence and acting as a broker between the realms of the spy and the policy-maker. Today it has a remarkably high profile, partly as a result of the intense controversies surrounding the Iraq War and Weapons of Mass Destruction. Despite this, its workings remain little understood.This book reveals the declassified papers of the JIC, shining a light on the workings of Whitehall’s secret world and the vital, previously unknown, role played by intelligence in pivotal events across the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.Key Features• 20 case studies explore the role of intelligence in foreign and defence policy, showing how the JIC influences the government's policy responses to particular situations• Each study reproduces an original intelligence assessment or report together with a contextualising introduction and explanatory footnotes• Essential reading for students and academics researching contemporary international history and government policymaking processesRichard J. Aldrich is Professor of International Security at the University of Warwick and Director of the Institute of the Advanced Study. His books include GCHQ: the Uncensored Story of Britain’s Most Secret Intelligence Agency (Harper Collins, 2010).Rory Cormac is a lecturer in international relations at the University of Nottingham. He is the author of Confronting the Colonies: British Intelligence and Counterinsurgency (Hurst, 2013).Michael S. Goodman is a Reader in Intelligence and International Affairs in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. He is currently on secondment to the Cabinet Office where he is writing the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee

Edition details

• Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0748678573
• ISBN 13: 9780748678570
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 456