Dr Matthew Hefler

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

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...

Summer reading 📚

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.

An attack on US intelligence | @matthefler.bsky.social

engelsbergideas.com/notebook/an-...

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.

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...

Experten om ett ”svenskt CIA”: Verkar vilja gå i den riktningen ”Kan bli betydande förändringar” • Ny svensk underrättelsemyndighet föreslås

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...

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

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"

7. Yukiko och Patrik möter Matthew Hefler Stolpe Stories · Episode

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...

📢 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 🌍

‘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...

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...

Thanks Gill!

Thanks John!

Thanks Dan!

Thanks Tony!

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/...

How Trump's Transactionalism Could Change Decades Old Security Relationships Podcast Episode · Mainstreet Halifax · 2025-03-25 · 25m

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...

Thanks for persevering, @melaniebrand.bsky.social ! Hope you enjoy.

Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict, edited by Matt Hefler

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!

Had a great 🇬🇧 book launch for Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict @kclcgs.bsky.social @kcsi.uk 💥

A big thanks to @drichterova.bsky.social @stevenbwagner.bsky.social and Philip Davies for discussing the collection and their contributions 🔥

If you missed it you can get a copy amzn.eu/d/2upuLlZ

Thanks Sarah-Jane!

Forget booing the anthem, Canada must employ strategic communications to fight Trump’s lies In the Canada-U.S. trade war, Canadian officials are facing an American president who excels at creating false narratives. Canada must win the messaging war.

Thanks to the team @theconversationca.bsky.social for publishing this piece on the Canada-US Trade War 🇨🇦🇺🇸

I argue that Trump’s repeated claims against Canada are a strategic communications effort to bolster support for unjustified tariffs- and 🇨🇦 must respond👇
theconversation.com/forget-booin...

Beautiful morning in London @kclcgs.bsky.social 🇬🇧 with our Applied History course from the Stockholm School of Economics 🇸🇪

YouTube video by The Cipher Brief Is U.S.-Europe Intelligence Sharing at Risk?

It was a pleasure to sit down with Tom Nagorksi from @thecipherbrief.bsky.social alongside @matthefler.bsky.social to discuss European intelligence, transatlantic liaison, Five Eyes, and more. 🇺🇸🇬🇧🇪🇺

Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict

Looking forward to this tonight!

The Swedish 🇸🇪 book launch for "Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict"

Happening tonight @CSSC_SSE @handels_sse 🚨
axel-and-margaret-axson-johnson-foundation-for-public-benefit.confetti.events/intelligence...

Shadows of power beneath the threshold: where covert action, organized crime and irregular warfare converge This article examines the intricate interplay between covert action, organized crime and irregular warfare, emphasizing their collective impact on international security. Through an examination of ...

EU commissioner for internal affairs and migration:
“Criminal networks that work on behalf of foreign powers – that is something new”

EUROPOL should read @magslong.bsky.social’s recent research on this convergence

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Thanks @dianabolsinger.bsky.social ! You’re too kind!

The good work just keeps on coming. Well done, @ronanmainprize.bsky.social and @matthefler.bsky.social .

Thanks @socintelhist.bsky.social !

We’ve got TWO book launches coming up for the collection -

One in Sweden March 20 with leading 🇸🇪 intelligence figures

And one in London April 1 with a group of contributors and SIH members!