Admission requirements
- Only students of the MSc Crisis and Security Management, enrolled in the specialisation ‘Intelligence and National Security’, can take this course.
Description
During this course, you will learn to critically examine the role and challenges of intelligence in decision-making. We will be looking at the relationship between intelligence producers and consumers (heads of state, heads of government, ministers, senior policy officers), with special attention to interactions between both groups when facing international security crises. We will initially be exploring the intelligence-policy interface from a conceptual and theoretical perspective and will then be unpacking various contemporary crisis that states were confronted with. While well-studied cases such as the 2003 U.S. intelligence failure on Iraq and weapons of mass destruction will be discussed, we will also be investigating more recent cases such as the October 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, the rapid fall of Kabul in August 2021, or Russia’s 2022 large-scale invasion of Ukraine, where states anticipated and prepared for the risks very differently. In particular, students will learn more about the diversity of intelligence-policy contexts in Europe, but we will also be looking beyond Europe. Discussions will focus on how policymakers in various countries receive and use the intelligence collected by their services and foreign policy specialists. In addition, we will be discussing the role of non-governmental experts and other providers of open-source knowledge and investigate how this can inform intelligence and policymaking.
We divide our learning process into several stages. After we recap what intelligence is and how estimative (forward-looking) intelligence is provided, we learn about the complex processes of policymaking in the field of security. We then discuss how intelligence producers, and other experts producing knowledge about threats and risks, inform this, by asking: what is their role and what do they need from policymakers?
One of the more practical elements of this course is that you will learn in-depth how to brief policymakers. Many of you who will pursue a career in either the public or private sector will encounter situations in which you are expected to brief others in your organisation about information you researched or reports you produced. This class will zoom in on the relationship between those producing intelligence and those consuming it. Students will thus enter the labour market with an improved understanding of how to produce and communicate knowledge – intelligence or other forms of expertise – effectively to decision-makers. The real-life case studies, moreover, give students insights in the most current challenges dominating the professional field.
Central to this course will be the research skill of analysis. Students will learn to apply the concepts and theoretical expectations and speak to debates discussed in class in order to systematically assess, interpret and explain contemporary security challenges, failures and successes in the intelligence-policy interface. They will learn about the way the relationship between analysts and policymakers has played a role in the lead-up to various surprises in international security. Students will think in depth about a research plan to deconstruct and analyse such complex phenomena.
Course objectives
Academic skills
After finalising this course, students will have acquired
Advanced knowledge and understanding of how to analyse complex phenomena in international security
Advanced knowledge and understanding of the core concepts and debates on the relationship between intelligence and policymakers
Advanced knowledge and understanding of how this relationship may result in intelligence failures
Awareness of the challenges in the relationship between decision-makers and analysts/experts
The ability to define and analyse the key challenges in the relationship between intelligence and policymakers from both the perspective of the policymaker and the intelligence analyst
Professional skills
After finalising this course, students will be able to:
Transfer these academic insights into a professional context through the use of real-world case studies
Understand the key tenets of how to produce and communicate intelligence and other forms of knowledge to decision-makers
Present results of (academic) research in written and oral briefings individually and as a group
Collaborate in a team on a collective project
Self-evaluate and reflect after interactive in-class work and individual assignments
Timetable
On the right side of programme front page of the E-guide you will find links to the website and timetables, uSis and Brightspace.
Mode of instruction
The course will consist of a combination of (guest) lectures and interactive group sessions, including simulation exercises. In the lectures, students will learn about the key theoretical debates, concepts and theories about the intelligence-policy interface, from the fields of public policy studies, crisis decision-making and intelligence studies. Students will learn to apply these concepts and theoretical expectations to case studies and examples from current affairs. The interactive sessions will, amongst others, consist of in-class assignments, team performances and other exercises that will help the student prepare for the summative (graded) assignments.
Attendance on-site is mandatory. Students are only allowed to miss a maximum of two sessions if there are special, demonstrable personal circumstances. The Board of Examiners, in consultation with the study advisors, will decide on such an exceptional exemption of mandatory attendance.
10 EC = 280 hours
Contact hours = 42 hours
Self-study hours = 238
In this 10 ECTS course, we will focus on the research skill assignment that is going to be part of your portfolio. Specific information on the portfolio assignment and the intended learning outcomes that are being acquired will be published in the syllabus of this course.
Assessment method
The calculated grade of the assignments must be at least 5.50 in order to pass the course.
Group assignment
20% of final grade
Resit not possible
Grade can be compensated in case of a fail (< 5.50)
Mid-term exam
30% of final grade
Resit not possible
Grade can be compensated in case of a fail (< 5.50)
Please note that the exam will take place in class (in-person, not online) in week 4. Please block the two sessions in week 4 in your diaries. The date of the exam will be published in the syllabus.
Final paper
50% of final grade
Grade must be 5,5 or higher to pass the course
Resit possible
Resit will take the same form
Students will also be permitted to resit the 50% final paper if they have a calculated overall course grade lower than 5.50 or with permission of the Board of Examiners.
Potential additional, formative (non-graded) assignments are an obligatory part of the course.
Transitional arrangement
Passed partial grades obtained in year 2023-2024 remain valid during year 2024-2025.
Please be aware that passed partial grades obtained in academic year 2024-2025 are no longer valid during academic year 2025-2026.
Reading list
A selection of book and articles, to be announced in the syllabus
Registration
Register yourself via MyStudymap for each course, workgroup and exam (not all courses have workgroups and/or exams).
Do so on time, before the start of the course; some courses and workgroups have limited spaces. You can view your personal schedule in MyTimetable after logging in.
Registration for this course is possible from Wednesday 13 December 13.00h
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.
Contact
Dr Eva Michaels e.m.michaels@fgga.leidenuniv.nl
Remarks
The corresponding Brightspace course will become available one week prior to the first seminar.