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Journal overview

"The premier journal of intelligence studies" Eliot A. Cohen, Foreign Affairs

Intelligence has never played a more prominent role in international politics than it does now in the early years of the twenty-first century. National intelligence services are larger than ever, and they are more transparent in their activities in the policy making of democratic nations. Intelligence and National Security is widely regarded as the world's leading scholarly journal focused on the role of intelligence and secretive agencies in international relations. It examines this aspect of national security from a variety of perspectives and academic disciplines, with insightful articles research and written by leading experts based around the globe.

Among the topics covered in the journal are:

  • the historical development of intelligence agencies
  • representations of intelligence in popular culture
  • public understandings and expectations related to intelligence
  • intelligence and ethics
  • intelligence collection and analysis
  • covert action and counterintelligence
  • privacy and intelligence accountability
  • the outsourcing of intelligence operations
  • the role of politics in intelligence activities
  • international intelligence cooperation and burden-sharing
  • the relationships among intelligence agencies, military organizations, and civilian policy departments.

Authors for Intelligence and National Security come from a range of disciplines, including international affairs, history, sociology, political science, law, anthropology, philosophy, medicine, statistics, psychology, bio-sciences, and mathematics. These perspectives are regularly augmented by research submitted from current and former intelligence practitioners in several different nations. Each issue features a rich menu of articles about the uses (and occasional misuses) of intelligence, supplemented from time to time with special forums on current intelligence issues and interviews with leading intelligence officials.

Peer Review
All unsolicited journal articles are subject to initial appraisal by the journal editors, and, if found suitable for further consideration, then undergo a rigorous peer review process based on double anonymized peer review, usually by two independent referees. For special issues/sections, the editors approve the content at the planning stage and liaise with special issue/section editors to ensure robust review of articles prior to final review and approval by the journal editors. Review articles and shorter state-of-the field papers (including submissions to the ‘Perspectives on Intelligence’ section), will be reviewed by the journal editors and may undergo peer review as well. Book reviews are reviewed and edited by the Assistant Editors (Reviews).

Authors can choose to publish gold open access in this journal.

Read the Instructions for Authors for information on how to submit your article.

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