National Security Intelligence

By: Loch Johnson

• Description
• Buy book / Order Exam Copy
• Reviews
• Table of Contents
• Author Information

Description

National security intelligence is a vast, complicated, and important topic, made doubly hard for citizens to understand because of the thick veils of secrecy that surround it.

This definitive introduction to the field guides readers skilfully through this hidden side of government. It not only explains the three primary missions of intelligence - information collection and analysis, counterintelligence, and covert action - it also explores the wider dilemmas posed by the existence of secret government organizations in 'open' societies. With over thirty-five years of experience studying intelligence agencies and their activities, Loch Johnson illuminates difficult questions such as why intelligence organizations make mistakes in assessing world events; why some intelligence officers decide to work against their own country on behalf of foreign regimes; and how agencies succumb to scandals, including spying on the very citizens they are meant to protect.

National Security Intelligence is tailor-made to meet the interests of students and general readers who care about how nations protect themselves against threats through the establishment of intelligence organizations - and how they continue to strive for safeguards to prevent the misuse of this secret power.

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* Exam copies only available to lecturers for whom the book may be suitable as a course text.
Please note: Sales representation and distribution for Polity titles is provided by John Wiley and Sons Ltd.

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Reviews

"In this finely crafted introduction, Loch Johnson offers a lively and accessible overview of the issues, theories, and themes that constitute both the study and practice of intelligence."
James J. Wirtz, Naval Postgraduate School, California

"As the Cambridge historian of intelligence Christopher Andrew observed, it's a shame that the best-known figure in intelligence, James Bond, is both fictional and very misleading about intelligence officers and their work. There is no one better than Loch Johnson to serve as a corrective. His lifelong scholarship has been more than punctuated by stints inside intelligence on Capitol Hill. And this volume does just that correcting, laying out clearly the basic intelligence functions as well as the challenge of accountability in the American democracy. So, too, his twin themes are wise reminders often lost in the din of public recriminations: intelligence does not and cannot predict the future, and its agencies, almost by nature, can be a danger to open society."
Gregory Treverton, RAND, California

"This book provides an illuminating guide to issues of national security intelligence organization, mission, and accountability. Written by one of the key thinkers in the field, it is an excellent introduction to the subject."
Mark Phythian, University of Leicester

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Table of Contents

• List of Figures
• Glossary of Terms
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• 1 The First Line of Defense
• 2 Intelligence Collection and Analysis: Knowing About the World
• 3 Covert Action: Secret Attempts to Shape History
• 4 Counterintelligence: The Hunt for Moles
• 5 Safeguards Against the Abuse of Secret Power
• 6 National Security Intelligence: Shield and Hidden Sword of the Democracies
• Notes
• Suggested Readings
• Index

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Author Information

Loch K. Johnson is Regents Professor of International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

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