Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures - (Security and Professional Intelligence Education) by Ryan Shaffer (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures is an authoritative and comprehensive reference work for African intelligence cultures and services.

Book Synopsis

The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures is an authoritative and comprehensive reference work for African intelligence cultures and services.

Review Quotes

. . . provid[ing] what academics and journalists require if they are to enquire into this area: a first port of call in understanding a complex subject . . . a weighty summary of the scholarly knowledge on the subject . . . important resources for anyone interested in the important role of intelligence across the continent.

... useful to academics and practitioners. Researchers, calling for more contributions from non-western perspectives, will welcome these edited volumes as springboards for deeper dives into the intelligence cultures of individual nations, or to develop their own comparative assessments. Governments and intelligence analysts, too, will find the volumes valuable.

...a comprehensive exploration of intelligence cultures in Africa, covering all African countries comprehensive exploration of intelligence cultures in Africa, covering all African countries.

"As the return of the Great Power competition means that Africa is again a contested landscape for terrorist networks and competing global powers, this important handbook on Africa's intelligence services fills a gap in intelligence literature on Africa, and contextualizes the necessary and shadowy world of intelligence."

"By examining the current intelligence services of African countries, this work represents a valuable contribution to understanding a too-often neglected topic. It serves as an important springboard for more detailed examinations of African intelligence services, their evolution, and the roles they play in their respective societies."

"This welcome new compendium by a range of leading academics globally provides an authoritative overview of the intelligence picture of every African country from a range of perspectives - historical, contemporary, issue-specific, cultural, and so on - and includes many countries whose intelligence set-ups have never been assessed in English previously."

The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures makes a vital contribution to knowledge of the internal dynamics of the state and external pressures of foreign actors shaping African intelligence cultures, their current situations, and challenges.

The Handbook of African Intelligence Cultures should be studied by any scholar looking at how intelligence operations and organizations vary according to culture and national circumstances, and also by any intelligence professional who is planning on taking up a post in Africa, which is one of the world's most important battle-grounds in the struggle for influence between the West, Russia, and China. It would also be very useful for any seller of intelligence software, services, training or equipment and technology wishing to map the vectors of business opportunity. African culture is far more complex than one might expect, and this volume should help prepare the professional for the type of unfamiliar and tricky terrain in which they will be expected to work.

About the Author

Ryan Shaffer has a PhD in history with expertise on extremism and security. He has written numerous articles, book chapters and reviews. Shaffer's books include African Intelligence Services: Early Postcolonial and Contemporary Challenges and The Handbook of Asian Intelligence Cultures.