What constitutes successful covert action? Evaluating unacknowledged interventionism in foreign affairs

Cormac, Rory; Walton, Calder; Puyvelde, Damien Van

Abstract

Covert action has long been a controversial tool of international relations. However, there is remarkably little public understanding about whether it works and, more fundamentally, about what constitutes success in this shadowy arena of state activity. This article distills competing criteria of success and examines how covert actions become perceived as successes. We develop a conceptual model of covert action success as a social construct and illustrate it through the case of 'the golden age of CIA operations'. The socially constructed nature of success has important implications not just for evaluating covert actions but also for using, and defending against, them.

Citation

Cormac, R., Walton, C., & Puyvelde, D. V. (2021). What constitutes successful covert action? Evaluating unacknowledged interventionism in foreign affairs. Review of International Studies, 48(1), 111-128. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210521000231

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 19, 2021
• Online Publication Date: May 24, 2021
• Publication Date: May 24, 2021
• Deposit Date: May 24, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: May 24, 2021
• Journal: Review of International Studies
• Print ISSN: 0260-2105
• Electronic ISSN: 1469-9044
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 48
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 111-128
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0260210521000231
• Keywords: Political Science and International Relations; Sociology and Political Science; Covert Action; Intelligence; Secrecy; Security
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5569734
• Publisher URL: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/review-of-international-studies/article/abs/what-constitutes-successful-covert-action-evaluating-unacknowledged-interventionism-in-foreign-affairs/96615329CBFA35271CD04AE12FBFEEA0
• Additional Information: This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the British International Studies Association.