Writers in British Intelligence: The Secret State and the Public Sphere

英国情报作家：秘密国家与公共领域

基本信息

批准号：
AH/V001000/1
负责人：
Jago Morrison
金额：
$ 43.02万
依托单位：
Brunel University London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2021
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2021 至无数据
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FV001000%2F1
关键词：
Writers British Intelligence Secret State

项目摘要

Intelligence work is characterised by secrecy and, as such, is often assumed to be detached from the public sphere. Popular images of the spy from 007's 'license to kill' onwards tend to reinforce this separation, portraying intelligence as something outside the law, exempt from public oversight. As this project will show, this is far from being the case. Despite the cloak of official secrecy, British intelligence has always had to be mindful of political opinion, and writers have often found themselves acting as intermediaries between the secret state and the people. The aim of this research is to explore this interaction, looking at five writers in particular. Our work will be divided into four strands:1) In the 1900s the idea of having a state 'secret police' was widely regarded as un-British by government. It took a mass campaign of 'citizen spies' spearheaded by the novelist William Le Queux to change this posture. For the first time, we will examine Le Queux's campaign and the responses it elicited from officials in detail. In so doing we will ask: how could a work of fiction achieve sufficient political momentum to force the establishment of Britain's first state intelligence service?2) Dennis Wheatley's and John Masterman's involvement with intelligence in WW2 is well known. However, the way their imaginative skills as novelists were used strategically, to 'game' adverse scenarios and to sell complex fictional intelligence to the Abwehr, has never been closely analysed. 25 years after the end of the war, both writers broke official silence by publishing their stories: the effect of these revelations on the public reputation of British intelligence has also, never been properly assessed. In doing so, we aim to develop a new understanding of the complex role these writers played in the history of British intelligence.3) In 1963, a serving MI6 officer emerged from nowhere to become the most successful spy writer in history. His scathing account of the intelligence 'circus' would shape the popular image of the agencies for a generation. The early 1960s were an intensely turbulent period for the politics of intelligence in Britain: for the first time, we will assess the impact of Le Carré's 'New Realism' within this febrile media climate. As arguably the most influential intervention made by any spy writer, what does it reveal about the changing relationship between British intelligence and the public sphere in this era of exposure?4) In 1992, as the first publicly acknowledged Director of MI5, Stella Rimington became the new face of 'openness' in British intelligence. All of her writing, both fictional and non-fictional, is concerned with negotiating a fresh, democratic image for the agencies. Almost none of it, however, has met with serious scrutiny. As we will show, during her tenure Rimington oversaw a major revolution in intelligence gathering methods, in many ways threatening the democratic rights and freedoms she claimed to defend. On this, her writing is almost completely silent. As such, we will ask whether Rimington's project is ultimately more about concealment than openness, obscuring the real evolution of intelligence work in the 90s and beyond.A key aim of this project is to engage both academic and non-academic audiences, encouraging further enquiry into the role of writers in intelligence. To stimulate cross-disciplinary dialogue between Literary and Intelligence studies, our programme includes a symposium in which leading scholars from each discipline will be brought together, leading to a ground-breaking collection of essays. Our public engagement strategy includes a major author event, as well as an innovative online exhibition on the Google Arts & Culture Platform. Our blog 'Writers in Intelligence' will provide a space for ongoing debate and dialogue between intelligence specialists, critics and members of the public.

情报工作的特征是保密，因此通常被认为是与公共领域脱离的。从007的“杀人许可证”中的间谍的流行图像倾向于加强这种分离，将情报描绘成法律之外的事物，免于公众的监督。正如该项目将显示的那样，情况远非如此。尽管有官方保密的斗篷，但英国情报一直必须牢记政治意见，作家经常发现自己是秘密国家和人民之间的中介。这项研究的目的是探索这种互动，尤其是五个作家。我们的工作将分为四个方面：1）在1900年代，政府将拥有州“秘密警察”的想法广泛视为非英国。小说家威廉·勒·奎克斯（William Le Queux）率领的“公民间谍”进行了大规模的运动，以改变这种姿势。我们将第一次研究Le Queux的竞选活动及其详细官员的回应。通过这样做，我们将问：如何实现足够的政治势头来迫使英国首个国家情报服务的建立？2）丹尼斯·惠特利（Dennis Wheatley）和约翰·策斯曼（John Masterman）参与第二次世界大战的情报。但是，从未对他们的富有想象力的小说家进行战略使用，“游戏”不利的情况并向ABWEHR出售复杂的虚构情报，从未经过深入分析。战争结束25年后，两位作家都通过发表故事来打破官方的轮廓：这些启示对英国情报的公众声誉的影响也从未得到适当评估。在这样做的过程中，我们旨在对这些作家在英国情报史中扮演的复杂作用有了新的了解。3）1963年，一名服务MI6官员从无处出现，成为历史上最成功的间谍作家。他对情报“马戏团”的严厉描述将影响一代代理商的流行形象。 1960年代初期是英国情报政治政治的本质上动荡时期：这是我们首次评估LeCarré的“新现实主义”在这种高温媒体气氛中的影响。可以说，这是任何间谍作家所做的最有影响力的干预措施，它在这个曝光时代的英国情报与公共领域之间的关系不断变化的是什么？4）1992年，正如第一位公开公认的MI5董事，斯特拉·里明顿（Stella Rimington）成为英国情报中“开放性”的新面孔。她的所有写作都是虚构的和非虚构的，都涉及谈判为机构谈判新鲜的民主形象。然而，几乎没有遇到严重的审查。我们将在其任期期间透露林顿（Rimington）在我的情报收集方法中进行了重大革命，在许多方面威胁着她声称要捍卫的民主权利和自由。在这上，她的写作几乎完全保持沉默。因此，我们将询问林明顿的项目是否最终更多地是关于隐瞒的，而不是开放性，掩盖了90年代及以后的情报工作的真正演变。该项目的主要目的是吸引学术和非学术受众，鼓励进一步询问作家在智力中的作用。为了刺激文学和情报研究之间的跨学科对话，我们的计划包括了一个研讨会，其中将汇集每种学科的领先学者，从而导致散文的开创性集合。我们的公共参与策略包括一项主要作者活动，以及Google艺术与文化平台上的创新在线展览。我们的博客“情报作家”将为情报专家，批评者和公众之间的持续辩论和对话提供一个空间。