Covert Action

Magda Long received her doctorate from Kings College London and is a research fellow at several academic institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Rory Cormac is a professor of international relations at the University of Nottingham.

Genevieve Lester is the lead for intelligence on the Afghanistan War Commission and an associate fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

Mark Stout, now retired, is the former director of the Masters in Global Security Studies Program at Johns Hopkins University and a former intelligence officer.

Damien Van Puyvelde is an associate professor and chairs the Intelligence and Security Research Group of the Institute of Security and Global Affairs at Leiden University.

"Timely and important, this is a book every policymaker needs to read. It shows how states have turned to covert action to exploit strategic ambiguity, testing for weakness all around the world. This brilliant collection is the first to examine the global shadow war."—Richard J. Aldrich, professor, University of Warwick, author of GCHQ: The Uncensored Story of Britains Most Secret Intelligence Agency

"This ambitious volume takes readers on a journey across the globe to better understand how different countries approach covert action. With nearly two dozen individual case studies, Covert Action uncovers how a countrys unique history, ambitions, and global interests combine to shape how its political and military leaders practice secret statecraft. This is the most comprehensive study of covert action in a comparative context out there."—Michael Poznansky, associate professor, Strategic and Operational Research Department, U.S. Naval War College and a core faculty member in the Cyber & Innovation Policy Institute

"The field of intelligence studies needs a book with this breadth and insight and Im so glad that its here. This comprehensive survey of covert action around the world ranges from Ancient Greece and the Barbary Coast to todays headlines. Covert Action is an enthralling read that opens a new and previously unexplored dimension to the world of espionage."—Diana Bolsinger, assistant professor, Department of Criminal Justice and Security Studies, The University of Texas at El Paso