Analysis & Opinions - Foreign Policy
The Spies Who Came in from the Continent
How Brexit could spell the end of Britain's famed advantage in intelligence.
From John le Carré's novels to the insatiable popular interest in James Bond, Britain has long enjoyed, and cultivated, an image of producing superior spies. This reputation is based on more than myth. For decades during and following World War II, the painstaking real-world work of British intelligence officers was one of the United Kingdom's primary sources of power.
That power, and its underlying foundations, is now in jeopardy thanks to Brexit, which will have a cascading series of repercussions for British intelligence: It will shut Britain out of European Union institutions that have benefited British national security, and it may also jeopardize the special intelligence relationship with the United States, which may look to deepen relations with Brussels instead. But while Brexit may now be inevitable, there are still ways for the U.K. to avoid this outcome....
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The full text of this publication is available via Foreign Policy.
For more information on this publication:
Belfer Communications Office
For Academic Citation:
Walton, Calder.“The Spies Who Came in from the Continent.” Foreign Policy, Spring 2019.
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From John le Carré's novels to the insatiable popular interest in James Bond, Britain has long enjoyed, and cultivated, an image of producing superior spies. This reputation is based on more than myth. For decades during and following World War II, the painstaking real-world work of British intelligence officers was one of the United Kingdom's primary sources of power.
That power, and its underlying foundations, is now in jeopardy thanks to Brexit, which will have a cascading series of repercussions for British intelligence: It will shut Britain out of European Union institutions that have benefited British national security, and it may also jeopardize the special intelligence relationship with the United States, which may look to deepen relations with Brussels instead. But while Brexit may now be inevitable, there are still ways for the U.K. to avoid this outcome....
Want to Read More?
The full text of this publication is available via Foreign Policy.- Recommended
- In the Spotlight
- Most Viewed
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It's Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy
Journal Article - Secrecy and Society
Historical Amnesia: British and U.S. Intelligence, Past and Present
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In the Spotlight
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Report - Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School
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Book - Simon & Schuster
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