Social Science and Intelligence Analysis: The Role of Intelligence Education

Abstract

The literature on intelligence analysis identifies a number of analytic dynamics and shortcomings in the U.S. intelligence community that reflect insufficiently developed competencies in advanced theoretical modeling and research methodology. These domains are squarely in the mission and purview of higher education, particularly at the graduate level. Higher education has been assigned some of the blame for the social science (and related) deficiencies observed in the intelligence community. However, the absence or failure of this kind of instruction, and possible implications for the intelligence community, has received little empirical attention. It is to begin filling this gap this article is written.

KEYWORDS:

• Security and intelligence studies
• intelligence education
• security education
• intelligence training
• social science and intelligence analysis
• intelligence analysis
• graduate education in international affairs