The continent has diverse histories, politics, government systems and people. Each of the countries under analysis face similar challenges, such as with governance, rule of law, economics and development. Yet, different historical periods also produce divergent outcomes. Broadly similar themes- transition, scandal, corruption, authoritarianism, oversight, international competition and cooperation-ensure that the chapters speak to each other as they provide the reader with an overview of the challenges that intelligence services face in the developing world. This is the first edited collection to explores African intelligence services from both scholarly and professional perspectives. It focuses on African agency by highlighting historical and contemporary challenges, including successes and failures. Taking a wide-ranging approach across a variety of African countries from different eras, selected African security institutions are analyzed with attention to colonial, national and local issues and how the intelligence services responded to those issues. The types of responses are key to the successes or failures, which in turn impacted stability, transparency, governance, rule of law and foreign relations.
Ryan Shaffer is a historian with expertise on political violence and security in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Introduction, Ryan Shaffer 1. The More Things Change: Kenya's Special Branch During the Decade of Independence, Ryan Shaffer 2. Intelligence, Decolonization and Non-Alignment in Zanzibar and Tanganyika, 1962-1972, Simon Graham 3. Soviet Bloc Security Services and the Birth of New Intelligence Communities in Mozambique and Angola, Owen Sirrs 4. Intelligence in the Rhodesian Counterinsurgency, Glenn A. Cross 5. The Role of the Forces armees rwandaises Intelligence Services and Parallel Power Structures During the Rwandan Struggle for Liberation, John Burton Kegel 6. Intelligence and Political Power in Neo-Patrimonial Systems: Theory and Evidence from Liberia, Benjamin J. Spatz and Alex Bollfrass 7. The Sudanese Intelligence Services Between Continuity and Disruption, Joseph Fitsanakis and Shannon Brophy 8. Civilian Intelligence Services in Botswana: Colonial Legacies and Politicization of the Directorate of Intelligence and Security, Tshepo Gwatiwa and Lesego Tsholofelo 9. Knowledge Is Power, But Power Corrupts: Reassessing the Role of Intelligence in South Africa's Wars, Politics and Society, 1965-2020, Kevin A. O'Brien 10. The Challenge of Effective Intelligence in Nigerian Post-Military Rule, Ibikunle Adeakin 11. Meeting the Needs of the State: Intelligence, Security and Police Legal Frameworks in East Africa, Christopher E. Bailey
