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

Reproduces and contextualises the intelligence documents that influenced crucial UK Government decisions

These 20 case studies reveal 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 20th and 21st centuries.

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.

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 processes