1st Edition

The Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee Volume I: From the Approach of the Second World War to the Suez Crisis

By Michael K. Goodman Copyright 2014
    492 Pages
    by Routledge

    492 Pages 20 B/W Illustrations
    by Routledge

    Volume One of the Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee draws upon a range of released and classified papers to produce the first, authoritative account of the way in which intelligence was used to inform policy.

    For almost 80 years the Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) has been a central player in the secret machinery of the British Government, providing a co-ordinated intelligence service to policy makers, drawing upon the work of the intelligence agencies and Whitehall departments. Since its creation, reports from the JIC have contributed to almost every key foreign policy decision taken by the British Government. This volume covers the evolution of the JIC since 1936 and culminates with its role in the events of Suez in 1956.

    This book will be of much interest to students of intelligence studies, British politics, international diplomacy, security studies and International Relations in general.

    Dr Michael S. Goodman is Reader in Intelligence and International Affairs in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. He is author or editor of five previous books, including the Routledge Companion to Intelligence Studies (2013).

    Foreword by Jon Day  Glossary  Introduction  Part I: Origins, 1936-1939  1: Why Joint Intelligence?  2: Building a Foundation  Part II: War, 1939-1945  3: The Onset of War: 1939-1940  4: Stabilisation: 1941-1942  5: Preparing for the End, 1943-1945  Part Three: New Threats, 1945-1957  6: A New Identity, 1945-1957  7: Creating a World-Wide Intelligence Network  8: Changing Enemies: The Rise of the Soviet Union, 1945-1947  9: The Bear: The Emergence and Stabilisation of the Cold War, 1947-1957  10: Studying the Soviet War Machine  11: War in the Far East: Part I – Conflict in China and Korea  12: War in the Far East: Part II – Problems n the Colonies  13: Adventures in the Middle East: Part I – The Rise of Nationalism  14: Adventures in the Middle East: Part II – The Suez Crisis  Conclusion

    Biography

    Michael S. Goodman is Reader in Intelligence and International Affairs in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. He is the author or editor of five previous books, including the Routledge Companion to Intelligence Studies (co-editor, 2013).

    'Michael Goodman’s The Official History of the Joint Intelligence Committee: Volume I (Routledge) should help make up for the neglect in spy literature of the JIC. The alpha and omega of intelligence bureaucracy, it influences what spies spy on and interprets their reports for policymakers. Well written and wisely judged, this first volume takes us through the second world war to Suez.' --Alan Judd, Spectator ‘Books of the Year’