Journal of Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism

Africa faces a range of national and transnational security challenges, including from organized crime, cybercrime, terrorism, and separatism. As a result, Africa’s intelligence space is complex and involves many interlocutors and interlopers - African and non-African - pursuing a range of security interests and intelligence policy objectives. Actors include state intelligence, private intelligence, and a range of other non-state actor intelligence formations. At the same time, the role of intelligence in Africa influences security and policy in positive and negative ways. On the one hand, intelligence has informed peace support operations, contributed to thwarting transnational organized crime, and supported diplomatic engagements. On the other, intelligence has been abused to aide regime security, entrench corruption, and facilitate destabilization by external actors.

This special issue will showcase research looking at how African intelligence services navigate threats and opportunities. The aim is to raise and explore fundamental questions regarding how intelligence can better inform policymakers and help them anticipate and act upon threats and opportunities in Africa and beyond. The special issue will solicit high-quality contributions from intelligence scholars as well as from scholarly policymakers.

 Contributions can address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• The intersection of African intelligence with policing and counter terrorism
• Non-state actor intelligence
• Women in intelligence
• Analysis in civilian intelligence
• Intelligence ethics and professionalism
• The dissemination of intelligence to decision makers
• Private sector intelligence
• Maritime intelligence
• Covert operations, counterintelligence, and counterespionage
• Contemporary law enforcement intelligence
• Economic intelligence and development policy
• Financial intelligence and complex crimes
• Environmental intelligence and climate change
• Military intelligence and peace operations
• Intelligence oversight
• The politics of intelligence
• Intelligence and human security
• Military influences in intelligence services
• Multilateral intelligence and geopolitics
• Strategic intelligence, diplomacy, and international relations
• Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA)

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