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SUMMARY:Intelligence Night - Dan Larsen (Christ's) & Dr. Rory Cormac (King
 's College\, London)
DTSTART:20120424T163000Z
DTEND:20120424T180000Z
UID:TALK37617@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Ilya Berkovich
DESCRIPTION:The workshop is back this Easter term with a session dedicated
  to intelligence featuring two speakers. \n\nDaniel Larsen (Christ's)\n\n*
 At the Nexus of Intelligence and International History: A Novel Approach t
 o Signals Intelligence*\n\nThanks to the world's signals intelligence agen
 cies\, the unintentional conduct of "open diplomacy" was one of the hallma
 rks of the twentieth century. For historians\, however\, explaining the pr
 ecise impact of this intelligence on international affairs remains largely
  impossible. The techniques both of international history and of intellige
 nce history have been unequal to solving this problem. This paper aims to 
 outline a novel methodological approach for exploring the role of signals 
 intelligence in international diplomacy. By offering a revised understandi
 ng of what we consider to be a "diplomatic message"\, it seeks to provide 
 historians with vital new tools to unlock the mysteries of signals intelli
 gence's impact on world affairs.\n\n***\n\nDr Rory Cormac (King's College 
 London)\n\n*Internationalising Insurgencies: Strategic Intelligence and Co
 mpeting Understandings of Imperial Decline*\n\nA key role of strategic int
 elligence between 1945 and 1970 was to internationalise colonial insurgenc
 ies by placing local violence in a broader context. This was designed to h
 elp policymakers understand the relationship between tactical developments
  in the theatre and broader thinking relating to the Cold War and/or imper
 ial decline. Having outlined this important function of intelligence\, thi
 s paper explores two issues relating to insurgencies. Firstly\, internatio
 nalising colonial violence was occasionally counterproductive. Forcing the
  intricacies of internal conflict into a framework dominated by the Cold W
 ar led to the denial of local agency and misunderstandings of the causes a
 nd nature of an insurgency. This created much acrimony between various pol
 itical departments. Secondly\, the British intelligence assessment system 
 relies on interdepartmental consensus. The final product\, however\, belie
 s the often vigorous debate and tension which pervades the intelligence pr
 ocess. Different departments held diverging and competing views on the nat
 ure of colonial violence\, its place within the international sphere\, and
  its relationship to broader trends. Strategic intelligence therefore serv
 es as a fascinating vehicle through which to explore how the 'official min
 d' in all its complexity viewed colonial insurgencies against the backdrop
  of the Cold War and imperial decline.
LOCATION:Nihon Room\, Pembroke College
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