Espionage in the 20th and 21st centuries

By Trevor Barnes, published 27th November 2020

In this podcast Trevor Barnes looks at the development of global intelligence and security services from their early origins to the present day. He examines at the role these services had during the two World Wars, the signficance of espionage in the development of the Cold War and the importance and evolution of the intelligence and security services post-9/11.

Trevor Barnes studied espionage in 1920s Britain and the CIA as a history student at the University of Cambridge and as a Kennedy Scholar at Harvard. He has also published a book titled "Dead Doubles: The Extraordinary Worldwide Hunt for One of the Cold War’s Most Notorious Spy Rings" which looks at the sensational Portland Spy Ring and its famous trial in 1961.

1. How long have there been espionage services?
2. What did these services look like by the end of the 19th century?
3. How did these services develop during World War 1?
4. How did the intelligence and security services develop in the inter-war years?
5. How did these services develop and expand during World War 2?
6. What significant espionage developments took place in Britain during this period?
7. To what extent did World War 2 raise the profile and importance of the intelligence services going into the Cold War?
8. How did the main intelligence services develop during the early Cold War?
9. To what extent were the Western intelligence services united? To what extent were the Communist intelligence services united?
10. The Portland Spy Ring and the Cuban Missile Crisis.
11. What was the impact of the discovery of a spy ring?
12. How did the intelligence services develop over the 1970's and 80's? How global was their reach?
13. What role did the intelligence services and espionage play in the ending of the Cold War?
14. The rise of China, 9/11 and Cybersecurity.


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