I've had the pleasure of hosting Matt in Lund for a seminar on the Churchill-de Gaulle relationship, he had some really fascinating stuff to share. If you're interested in Anglo-French rivalry in the Middle East during and immediately after WWII, make sure to check this out.

Dr Matthew Hefler@matthefler.bsky.social · 2mo ago

For #WorldWarIIwithTomHanks I wrote about intelligence in the stormy Churchill-de Gaulle relationship 🇬🇧 🇫🇷 Check it out at Sky History 👇 www.history.co.uk/articles/dr-...

For #WorldWarIIwithTomHanks I wrote about intelligence in the stormy Churchill-de Gaulle relationship 🇬🇧 🇫🇷 Check it out at Sky History 👇 www.history.co.uk/articles/dr-...

A historian explores how secret intelligence fractured Churchill and de Gaulle’s WWII alliance

Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle were uneasy allies during WWII. Dr Matthew Hefler reveals how secret intelligence, espionage and intercepted messages helped drive them apart.

history.co.uk

Glad you can find me on this stellar list at Sky History - lodged between the likes of Simon Sebag Montefiore and @dancarlin.bsky.social 🤫 #WorldWarIIwithTomHanks www.history.co.uk/articles/wor...

World War II with Tom Hanks: Meet the historical experts

In the Sky HISTORY docuseries World War II with Tom Hanks, the much-loved actor is joined by respected scholars – including big-name British historians.

history.co.uk

Joined Sveriges Radio to comment on Sweden’s decision to establish an independent civilian foreign intelligence service 🇸🇪 The new Sveriges utrikes underrättelsetjänst (UND) is expected to resemble the UK’s SIS/MI6 🇬🇧 www.sverigesradio.se/artikel/swed...

A great seminar here yesterday, where I had the honor of hosting @matthefler.bsky.social, who talked about Churchill, de Gaulle and British subversion in the Middle East during the final years of WWII. Keep an eye out for his upcoming book!

The Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy’s #Intelligence and #Security Digital Seminar Series is in full swing! 💥 Our stellar lineup continues 10 March with Professor Richard J. Aldrich 🇬🇧 🇸🇪 For detals on our forthcoming speakers and to register: www.hhs.se/en/research/...

Books I’ve read this year in intelligence/national security (part 1) On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis Spy Schools by Daniel Golden Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict, edited by @matthefler.bsky.social The Spy Archive by Dexter Ingram 9/19

Thanks Jeff Douglas for having me back to Mainstreet @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social to discuss Canada-Sweden cooperation and how I've seen Sweden stepping up to the geopolitical challenges we face 🇨🇦 🇸🇪 Listen here 🔊 www.linkedin.com/posts/activi...

#statecraft #diplomacy #intelligence #security | Matthew Hefler, PhD

Thanks Jeff Douglas for having me back to CBC/Radio-Canada to chat Canada-Sweden cooperation and how I've seen Sweden stepping up to the geopolitical challenges we face 🇨🇦 🇸🇪 While a large Swedish d...

linkedin.com

Happening now: Opening press conference of the Halifax International Security Forum with 🇨🇦 Minister of National Defense David McGuinty and Forum President Peter Van Praagh

@matthefler.bsky.social's latest is an absolute must read:

Dr Matthew Hefler@matthefler.bsky.social · 11mo ago

Josephine Baker spied for France 🇫🇷 against the Axis- but what if her most secret operation was against an ally? 🇬🇧 This essay uses intelligence records to trace a desperate effort to counter British subversion & save the French Empire @engelsbergideas.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/portraits/jo...

From Stalin’s 1941 May Day parade in Moscow to Xi’s Tiananmen Square display, military spectacles have long been used to project power and mask vulnerability. The politics of a military parade | Peter Caddick-Adams engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

Josephine Baker spied for France 🇫🇷 against the Axis- but what if her most secret operation was against an ally? 🇬🇧 This essay uses intelligence records to trace a desperate effort to counter British subversion & save the French Empire @engelsbergideas.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/portraits/jo...

Josephine Baker's secret war

The singer-turned-spy Josephine Baker played a key, and hitherto unacknowledged, role during the Second World War in the secret contest between Britain and France in the Middle East.

engelsbergideas.com

Loads to take in here at IAFIE, 2025!

The Society for Intelligence History@socintelhist.bsky.social · last yr.

Are you an Intelligence Studies authors and editors interested in discussing your work? Why not apply to join the author's panel during the joint IAFIE conference in Aranjuez-Madrid, Spain, September 9-11, 2025. Please contact Dr. William Spracher, at spracherw@yahoo.com for more information.

Looking forward to this here IAFIE in Aranjuez, Spain!

Tony Ingesson@tonyingesson.bsky.social · last yr.

The organizers of the 2025 annual IAFIE conference asked me if I could submit a short video presentation of my contribution. So I decided to have some fun and make a video in the style of a dramatic documentary trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQK3...

“In a July 20 directive signed by Gabbard, reported by CBS, the U.S. intelligence community was given orders to classify all analysis and information related to the Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations as "NOFORN," or no foreign dissemination” www.politico.eu/article/tuls...

Trump’s intel chief freezes out Five Eyes allies on Ukraine

The intelligence alliance of the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand as well as the U.S. is one of the closest in the world.

politico.eu

Josephine Baker’s secret war | @matthefler.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/portraits/jo...

Josephine Baker's secret war

The singer-turned-spy Josephine Baker played a key, and hitherto unacknowledged, role during the Second World War in the secret contest between Britain and France in the Middle East.

engelsbergideas.com

I wrote recently in @engelsbergideas.bsky.social about the tension between political narratives and events as supported by intelligence. Here’s more on that: former intelligence chiefs defending history (and their actions) against efforts to rewrite the past. 🇺🇸 www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/o...

Opinion | Brennan and Clapper: Let’s Set the Record Straight on Russia and 2016

nytimes.com

Summer reading 📚

An attack on US intelligence | @matthefler.bsky.social engelsbergideas.com/notebook/an-...

An attack on US intelligence

The president’s willingness to manipulate assessments of Iran's nuclear programme suggests that he prioritises his public narrative over the effectiveness of America's intelligence services.

engelsbergideas.com

Glad speaking with @svenskadagbladet1.bsky.social on US intelligence on Iran and how to consider the public disputes around assessments 🇺🇸 Though hard to guauge from outside, recent events remind us to beware politicization of intelligence or secret services 🌍 English 👇 www.svd.se/a/kwoBJX/exp...

Expert: Underrättelser om Iran har blivit politik

De motstridiga uppgifterna om bombningen av Iran tyder enligt spioneriexperten Matthew Hefler på att underrättelse i USA håller på att bli politik.

svd.se

Thanks to Sweden’s national TV network @svtnyheter.bsky.social for getting my reaction to 🇸🇪's recent intelligence review by Carl Bildt 🌍 I said that a new foreign intelligence agency will take time and must reflect Sweden's security needs and "intelligence culture" 🛠️ 🇸🇪 www.svt.se/nyheter/inri...

Experten om ett ”svenskt CIA”: Verkar vilja gå i den riktningen

”Kan bli betydande förändringar” • Ny svensk underrättelsemyndighet föreslås

svt.se

In his recent ‪@theobserveruk.bsky.social piece on @edwardluce.bsky.social's 'Zbig: The Life of Zbigniew Brzezinski, America's Cold War Prophet', John Bew says "Brzezinski cuts a talented but frustrated figure"

Meet the President’s main man | The Observer

An elegant portrait of Jimmy Carter’s hawkish security adviser reveals him to be a pivotal figure in cold war policy

observer.co.uk

Podcast alert! 🚨 📻 I had the pleasure of chatting about my collection Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict on "Yukiko and Patrik meet"👇 This book brings together experts on issues of intelligence and security and was produced by the Ax:son Johnson Institute 🌍 open.spotify.com/episode/6VsQ...

7. Yukiko och Patrik möter Matthew Hefler

Stolpe Stories · Episode

open.spotify.com

📢 Exciting news! The Centre for Grand Strategy and the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation are merging to form a new hub within @warstudieskcl.bsky.social: the Centre for Statecraft & National Security @csns-uk.bsky.social ➡️ You can find more information here: csns.uk

Today’s reading 📖

Back in London for the London Defence Conference 🇬🇧 This year the exceptional and timely programme is focusing on the theme of Alliances 🌍

Invoking Munich & Neville Chamberlain to talk about Ukraine is fashionable but often misleading. In JSS, I review two recent books on appeasement - and examine how hype about new tech (air power) distorted British strategy in the 1930s. 50 free copies here 👇 www.tandfonline.com/eprint/43ETS...

‘Neville, you must remember you don’t know anything about foreign affairs’: Assurance, air power, and alternative histories to appeasement

This review essay explores British grand strategy during the interwar period, drawing on David French’s Deterrence, Coercion, and Appeasement and G. C. Peden’s Churchill, Chamberlain, and Appeaseme...

tandfonline.com

Delighted to announce that I have taken on the role of Project Lead of the new AJI Intelligence and Security Programme 🚨 This academic project examines the role of intelligence and secret services in statecraft, diplomacy, and international security. 🌍 Learn more: www.linkedin.com/feed/update/...

Recently caught up with @thejeffdouglas.bsky.social @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social to discuss some of the latest news around intelligence, security and diplomacy 🌎 Main point was the role of intelligence services in protecting elections and cooperating with allies 🤝 podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/m...

How Trump's Transactionalism Could Change Decades Old Security Relationships

Podcast Episode · Mainstreet Halifax · 2025-03-25 · 25m

podcasts.apple.com

Very excited to finally get hold of this fantastic volume… After two cancelled online orders finally found it in the bookstore of the National Arboretum in Canberra of all places!