Intelligence in the Information Revolution

“Spies and Policymakers: Intelligence in the Information Age” is an analytical article written by Marcos Degaut, a PhD student in Security Studies. The article was recently published by Intelligence and National Security Journal. Mr. Degaut argues that massive changes and continuous developments in the uses and applications of technology and communications, part of the process known as Information Revolution, have changed the way we see the world. The Information Revolution has had an impact upon intelligence collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination, and upon the way policymakers can access reliable information, in a timely manner, and upon the sources they are most likely to rely on when a specific piece of information is needed to support a decision. The study also attempts to describe, analyze and explain the nature of the ongoing information revolution, to present its main impacts on the intelligence and policy communities and what can be done to prevent intelligence from becoming irrelevant to the decision-making process.

The article provides a deep analysis about an important, though often neglected, subject, challenges the conventional wisdom about the increasing irrelevance of the intelligence activity, and offers new perspectives on a theoretical field relevant to the security of the State and the preservation of the national interests,  without resorting to an extensive and tiresome literature review, allowing it to be read with ease and pleasure not only by professionals but also by a broader audience.