Introduction: Developing Intelligence Theory

(Opening paragraph) As this special issue of Intelligence and National Security on ‘Developing Intelligence Theory’ is published, it is a decade since its three editors decided to put together an initial volume presenting the current state of conceptual thinking about intelligence. That book, Intelligence Theory: Key Questions and Debates, was an early output of what developed as a project designed to take forward and be explicit about the importance of theory in developing the study of intelligence. It progressed principally through panels convened at the annual meetings of the International Studies Association, going all the way back to the 2004 meeting in Montreal. Shortly after that, in June 2005, a workshop organised by the RAND Corporation on behalf of the Office of Director of National Intelligence on intelligence theory provided an important spur to developing further thinking in this area. The articles collected here were presented originally at two very well-attended panels at the 2017 International Studies Association meeting in Baltimore and represent the latest stage in this project. By then, not only had the security intelligence environment changed greatly, largely as a result of rapid technological advances, but also our understanding had been enhanced by the material made available via the Edward Snowden leaks and subsequent national debates. Clearly it provided an opportune moment for taking stock of developments in conceptual approaches to the study of intelligence.