Authors

Natalia Telepneva¹; ³; Ksenia Wesolowska¹; ³; Jan Koura²; Mikuláš Pešta²; Przemyslaw Gasztold⁴;  ¹ University of Strathclyde, UK;  ² Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Czech Republic;  ³ University of Strathclyde, UK;  ⁴ Institute of National Remembrance, Poland

Discussion

The study of Soviet and Eastern European intelligence in the Global South has long been discussed by political commentators and Cold War worries, often using anecdotal evidence. In the past decade, the opening of Eastern European and (partial) opening of Soviet archives has revolutionized our understanding of the role that secret intelligence played in the Cold War in the Global South. Recent studies have focused on how members of the Warsaw Pact employed clandestine means to achieve their diplomatic goals in the Global South, and how both human and signals intelligence worked in practice, contributing to our understanding of the state socialist states, their security apparatus, and their relationship with key allies in the Global South. This roundtable brings together new research perspectives on this understudied topic, using key case studies to draw broader conclusions about the state of the field and highlighting recent findings.