Covert Action Counter Intel

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Juris Doctor

Covert action (CA) and counterintelligence (CI) have long been significant instruments of statecraft. However, democracies have often been wary of using them. At times, CA and CI individually or together have made a notable difference, providing competitive advantage to policymakers and saving lives and treasure. When used effectively, these instruments have yielded significant strategic advantage. They also generate controversy particularly owing to issues of their compatibility with democratic values. This seminar will focus on explaining the elements of CA and CI, examining circumstances and conditions that enable both to become more effective tools of strategy and policy, and addressing issues concerning their uses in and by democratic societies, notably the United States. While these statecraft instruments will be examined largely in the U.S. context, the course will also draw on examples of the uses of CA and CI by other countries as well, with the idea that theorists and practitioners can learn from foreign experiences. Key course themes in the examination of CA and CI are four; they address strategy, liberal democracy, the role of analysis, and identifying “best practices” through a lessons-learned approach.