SIS Headquarters, London, England – Wikimedia Commons
The Center for the Study of the Presidency & Congress is delighted to welcome University of Nottingham professor of international relations, Dr. Rory Cormac to discuss the United Kingdom and the past and future practice of intelligence.
The United Kingdom and intelligence are synonymous due in no small part to popular fiction, film, and entertainment. The real story of the United Kingdom’s collection and use of intelligence is, however, far more interesting as Dr. Cormac shows in his books on covert action, and the relationship between the UK intelligence community and the prime minister and the Royal Family.
Dr. Cormac will discuss this relationship, how states such as the United Kingdom use covert action and intelligence to advance their interests, and how the relationship between MI5, MI6, GCHQ and others shapes policy and politics. He will be in discussion with Joshua C. Huminski, the Director of the Mike Rogers Center for Intelligence & Global Affairs at CSPC.
Dr. Cormac is the author most recently of “How to Stage a Coup” and co-author with Richard Aldrich of “The Black Door: Spies, Secret Intelligence and British Prime Ministers” and “Secret Royals: Spying and the Crown, from Victoria to Diana” (the American edition of which is to be published on 1 September).
If you’d like to attend, please email sophie.williams@thepresidency.org.
Professor Rory Cormac’s expertise lies in secret intelligence and covert operations.
A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, Rory has written five books on secret intelligence and international security. His most recent is How to Stage a Coup (Atlantic Books, June 2022) which examines the rise of secret statecraft amongst global powers and how we should respond to it. He co-authored Spying and the Crown with Richard Aldrich (Atlantic Books, 2021).
Rory’s research has featured in most national newspapers and he regularly appears on radio and television. Alongside Richard Aldrich, he has co-presented history documentaries for Channel 4, most recently The Queen and the Coup (2020). His research has also been adapted into radio documentaries, including BBC Radio 4’s MI6’s Secret Slush Fund (2017).
Rory is an experienced speaker. He regularly engages with both corporate and government audiences and has spoken at 10 Downing Street, the Cabinet Office, the Home Office and, in the US, the Pentagon and State Department. He has also appeared at the Hay, Cheltenham and Edinburgh literary festivals.
Brought up in Plymouth, Rory now lives in Nottingham with his wife and two children.