Admission requirements
This course is designed for the minor Intelligence Studies. It is not possible to follow single courses of this minor. You need to be enrolled in uSis for the minor to be accepted to this course.
Description
This course introduces students to the inner workings of intelligence agencies in authoritarian regimes, with a primary focus on the Russian experience. Intelligence agencies and security services have played pivotal roles throughout Russian history, including the Tsarist and Soviet periods, and continue to be influential in contemporary Russia. The course examines how these organizations are structured, how they collect and process information, and how they engage with the policy process, spanning from the Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB) to the present-day Federal Security Service (FSB) and Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR).
Students will explore the motivations that drive intelligence organizations, the tactics they employ to conduct domestic and foreign operations, how they shape information flows, and the impacts of institutional bias and secrecy. By employing historical case studies, such as Soviet interventions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet-Afghan War, alongside contemporary examples like the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the curriculum emphasizes recurring patterns in intelligence behavior without extending into broader foreign policy analysis.
The course aims to provide undergraduates with a clear, evidence-based understanding of intelligence in authoritarian regimes, equipping them for further study or careers in security, analysis, or public policy.
Course objectives
After completing this course, you will be able to:
1. Describe the organizational structure, roles, and operational functions of Soviet and Russian intelligence agencies, and identify both continuities and changes across these organizations.
2. Explain how the Russian intelligence process works, including collection, reporting, and dissemination.
3. Analyze the role of intelligence agencies and intelligence operations in Soviet and Russian foreign policy.
4. Compare the role of intelligence in Soviet-era conflicts to its role in contemporary Russian cases, including the war in Ukraine.
5. Compare and contrast intelligence practices in the Russian context with those in other systems.
6. Formulate and develop arguments that connect intelligence to international relations outcomes.
Timetable
On the right side of the programme front page you will find links to the website and timetables, MyStudymap, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
7 lectures of 3 hours by instructors and guest lecturers.
Assessment method
Final exam
• 100% of total grade
• Grade must be 5.50 or higher to pass the course
• Resit possible
The Course and Examination Regulation Security Studies and the Rules and Regulation of the Board of Examiners of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs apply.
The resit exam will be held in January 2027 and will follow the same format as the original test. After the exam, you can look over your paper and see your score, and you will have the chance to request an exam review meeting. Details about how to schedule that review session will be posted on Brightspace.
Reading list
TBA on Brightspace
Registration
Registration via MyStudymap is possible from Tuesday 14 July 2026 13:00h after registration for the entire minor. Register for every course via MyStudymap. Some courses of the minor have a limited number of participants, so register on time. Registration for the exam is mandatory.
Leiden University uses Brightspace as its online learning management system. After enrolment for the course in MyStudymap you will be automatically enrolled in the Brightspace environment of this course.
More information on registration via MyStudymap can be found on this page.
Please note 1: Registration for the resit of an exam is mandatory, this has to be done by the student and can be done from TBA until 10 days before the exam. Until 5 days before the exam you can email OSC and fill in a form.
Please note 2: guest-/contract-/exchange students do not register via MyStudymap but via uSis. Registration via uSis is possible from Thursday 16 July 2026 after registration for the entire minor.
Contact
Email: intelligencestudies@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
All sessions will be in English. Exams and assignments need to be written in English.