Beyond States and Spies: The Security Intelligence Services of the Private Sector (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781399543668)

Scholars have long viewed intelligence as the preserve of nation states. Where the term 'private sector intelligence' is used, the focus has been overwhelmingly on government contractors. As such, a crucial aspect of intelligence power has been overlooked: the use of intelligence by corporations to navigate and influence the world. Where there has been academic scrutiny of the field, it is seen as a post-9/11 phenomenon, and that a state monopoly of intelligence has been eroded. Beyond States and Spies demonstrates - through original research - that such a monopoly never existed. Private sector intelligence is at least as old as the organised intelligence activities of the nation state. The book offers a comparative examination of private and public intelligence, and makes a compelling case for understanding the dangers posed by unregulated intelligence in private hands. Overall, this casts new light on a hitherto under investigated academic space.

Author: Lewis Sage-Passant
ISBN-10: 1399543660
ISBN-13: 9781399543668
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Language: English
Published: 04/30/2026
Pages: 360
Format: Paperback