There. I said it. I know, it’s upsetting. It goes against everything we’ve been conditioned to believe. From James Bond to winning the Cold War, we’ve been presented with a steady stream of successful espionage tales. They are, however, more entertainment than reality.
It’s not that the West is bad at spying because of the people who do the work. Not at all. It’s because we’re short-term thinkers and spying is a long game.
Espionage requires patience. So much patience that years could go by without accomplishing much. Culturally, politically, we are not equipped to deal with waiting for pay-offs.
It’s an inherent conflict within democracies. We’re all on four or five year election cycles. We vote in our own self-interest, which usually means following politicians who promise things will get better tomorrow. Tomorrow I will put more money in your pocket. Tomorrow I will make it easier for you to be successful. How many of us vote for people who promise that things probably won’t get better for us, but possibly for our kids, if we get our shit together and stay the course?
Do you see the problem? The West is a society of instant results. Immediate likes. Changing course based on polling data. We see a lack of wins as proof of incompetence. Our thinking norms make us bad at spying.
Not all spying all the time. We do get a win here and there. But not many, and we’re never going to win the war unless we change up how we evaluate success when it comes to espionage.
Spying is important. It’s important for our national sovereignty. It’s important for protecting our economies and our political and personal freedoms. But we need to understand that we’re going to lose ground unless we can shift our thinking and support the long game that is great espionage.
Read this:
I don’t often say a book is a ‘must read’ because there are so many books in the world, I figure, read what excites you. But The Spy in Moscow Station by Eric Haseltine is one of those rare ‘must reads’ for anyone interested in espionage. It’s got signals intelligence (my favourite!), human intelligence, shady deals, cool tech, and the absolute best example of why the West struggles to do good spying. So so so gripping.
Thanks for giving me the gift of your time.
Rhiannon