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Call for Paper: New Perspectives on the Role of Intelligence in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe

The Center for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (ACIPSS) of Graz University will host the 2018 Annual Conference of the International Intelligence History Association (IIHA).  The conference will be held on June 8-10, 2018, at the Bildungshaus Mariatrost in the historic city of Graz, capital of the Austrian region of Styria.  The theme of the conference will be “New Perspectives on the Role of Intelligence in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe”.

Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe have experienced several transitions and transformations since World War I. The fall of empires led to new paths for state and nation-building, often based on ideological orientation and choice: fascist, communist and western democratic. Old but also new patterns of security and insecurity emerged, highlighting the need for security at home and alertness abroad. As a consequence, intelligence in its broadest sense became a major ingredient in politics and diplomacy, both at the level of the nation-state and of the society of states.

In the year 2018, a century of nigh on revolutionary developments in matters of intelligence calls for new historical assessment and comparison. Thus the conference organizers are seeking original papers dealing with all aspects relating to intelligence issues in these regions, including but not limited to case studies on the experiences of individual countries and/or regional blocs, including non-governmental actors. They also specifically invite papers on comparative intelligence historiography on these regions.  The period covered is from the Austro-Hungarian Empire until today.

We especially encourage paper proposals from young researchers and doctoral students, as well as from established scholars and former practitioners.

Please submit your panel or paper proposal abstract of 200-300 words and your detailed CV by email to the IIHA Executive Director Anna Abelmann at: exec_director[a]intelligence-history.org

The deadline for proposal submissions is January 31, 2018. Notifications of acceptance will go out by the end of February 2018. Conference presenters are invited to submit their revised paper in form of an article to the Association’s Journal of Intelligence History (JIH) or to ACIPSS’ Journal for Intelligence, Propaganda and Security Studies (JIPSS).

The IIHA is one of the oldest and largest associations in the field of intelligence studies, with members from dozens of countries in all five continents.  Our annual conferences are the central place for presenting new research and meeting leading intelligence scholars, experts and colleagues from all over the world. Further information is available on our websites www.intelligence-history.org and www.acipss.org.