Intelligence and Secret Services in Diplomacy

Abstract

Intelligence, in the international arena, refers to information that meets the needs of policy makers. It largely refers to issues related to  national security - that is, defence and foreign policy. It is the foundation for state policies as it provides the basis for decisions taken by  governments. A nation armed with intelligence has power, hence the maxim knowledge is power is apt as intelligence provides advance  warnings of developments in other countries that will or could affect a country’s interests. Such advance warnings give policy makers the  time for an appropriate response. The actions, policies and capabilities of other nations and important non-state actors (international  organisation, terrorist organisations etc.) are of great concern. Policy makers must keep track of powers in a variety of areas, including  economic, military and societal, whether they are friends, neutrals, enemies or allies but rivals in certain contexts. Also, it has become important to keep track of non-state actors-terrorists, traffickers and others, hence the necessity of the existence of secret services.  Secret services are intelligence agencies who are not just collectors of secret information, but also analysts, as their analysis also adds to  the secret information. In this study, the role of intelligence is examined, the problems of intelligence are analysed as well as the activities  of secret services, using the secret services of five countries as case studies, thus contributing to the growing literature on  intelligence and secret services. The study is based on the quantitative method of research and relied heavily on the historical  methodology, which combines both primary and secondary sources of data, including newspaper sources, official documents as well as  books and journal articles. The findings of the study indicate that each nation’s use of intelligence and secret services is a unique  expression of its history, needs and preferred government structure. The study recommended the effective and efficient use of  intelligence and secret services for the optimum diplomatic practice of a country.