[12 March 2021] In a recent article in The International Journal of Intelligence, Security, and Public Affairs, two well-read intelligence scholars argue that the European school of intelligence studies is quickly taking shape. The article, “Shaping the European School of Intelligence Studies”, was authored by W?adys?aw Bu?hak, assistant professor at the Office for Historical Research at the Institute for National Remembrance in Warsaw, Poland, and Thomas Wegener Friis, associate professor and network coordinator at Center for Cold War Studies of the University of Southern Denmark.
The authors argue that intelligence studies have very quickly established themselves in continental Europe, within the period of one generation —an impressive feat. What is more, according to Bu?hak and Friis, although they have strong ties to British, American and Israeli research, European intelligence studies “differ from the traditional British and American research”. In fact, the authors state that the differences between continental European intelligence studies on the one hand, and British/American intelligence studies on the other, are sufficiently pronounced to justify a new description for European intelligence studies: the European School of Intelligence Studies (ESIS).
Later on in the article, the authors delineate the interdisciplinary nature of ESIS and explore the leading scholarships —and scholars— within ESIS. They also outline some sub-schools within ESIS —notably what they refer to as “a North-South divide”. Interestingly, ESIS research is characterized by significant interest in counterintelligence, as well as a strong awareness of the fundamental differences between democratic and authoritarian intelligence systems, according to the paper.
The EIA welcomes this exploration of the possible emergence of a new methodological framework for intelligence research, which Bu?hak and Friis refer to as ESIS. If true, we view this development as a positive step, and not —as some would have it— as a sign of fragmentation within the discipline of intelligence studies. Indeed, intelligence studies is a broad tent, which is in need of differing research approaches, thematic concentrations, and even contrasting conclusions. In academic research, such disparities are signs of vigor, not decay. [EIA]