A latter day Judas? Security, diplomatic protection, and the Foreign Office Security Department, 1955 – 1987

Lomas, Daniel W. B.

Abstract

This article looks at the response of the British Foreign Office to security threats to HMG diplomats and diplomatic posts, placing security at the heart of the study of UK diplomacy. It explores the response of the Foreign Office’s Security Department to the threat of espionage by hostile states, and the increasingly violent threats posed by terrorist groups and other non-state groups to diplomats and diplomatic premises overseas. It seeks to build on earlier work on the development of the Security Department, suggesting that security within the Foreign Office was taken increasingly seriously as the lives of officials came under threat. It also looks at the broader role that security plays in diplomacy, and the tensions between public diplomacy and the protection of officials serving overseas.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Apr 5, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Apr 12, 2024
• Publication Date: Apr 12, 2024
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 5, 2024
• Journal: International History Review
• Print ISSN: 0707-5332
• Electronic ISSN: 1949-6540
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07075332.2024.2341738
• Keywords: Diplomacy, security, terrorism, espionage, Foreign Office
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/33293636
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/07075332.2024.2341738
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rinh20; Received: 2023-11-30; Accepted: 2024-04-05; Published: 2024-04-12