AJI Intelligence and Security Programme
Based at the Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication (CSSC), the programme is a part of the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy.
Led by Dr. Matthew Hefler, the AJI Intelligence and Security Programme is dedicated to producing policy-relevant insight, providing education on issues of espionage and defense, and to fostering dialogue among scholars and current and former intelligence practitioners.
AJI Intelligence and Security Seminar 2025: Intelligence and Contemporary Global Challenges
People
Publications
Events
Intelligence and Contemporary Global Challenges – Major international research seminar, Engelsberg Ironworks, October 2025, see the full playlist on Youtube
Book Launch, King’s College London, April 2025: Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict: Communication in Diplomacy, Statecraft and War.
Book Launch, SSE, April 2025: Intelligence and Contemporary Conflict: Communication in Diplomacy, Statecraft and War.
Intelligence, Communication and Contemporary Global Conflict – Major international research seminar, Engelsberg Ironworks, November 2025, see the full playlist on Youtube
Media and Public Outreach
Digital Seminar Series
The AJI Intelligence and Security Programme Digital Seminar is a monthly gathering dedicated to cutting-edge intelligence research and analysis. It is designed as an online hub for intelligence specialists, scholars or general public interested in issues of security and statecraft, and a place where researchers and current and former intelligence practitioners can interact. Most of all, the seminar is a forum for the study of intelligence and security in the Nordic countries and across the transatlantic AJI more broadly.
The digital seminar takes place the second Tuesday of every month during the academic year, at 10:00 EST / 15:00 GMT / 16:00 CET. Those interested in attending the seminar should register here.
Seminar Leads:
Convenor:
Dr. Matthew Hefler, Stockholm School of Economics
Co-Convenors:
Dr. Rikard Westerberg, Stockholm School of Economics
Dr. Kristin Ven Bruusgaard, Norwegian Intelligence School, NORIS
Dr. Tony Ingesson, Lund University
Dr. Clément Renault, Institut de Recherche Stratégique de l'Ecole Militaire (IRSEM)
John Sipher, Atlantic Council, Former Senior Intelligence Officer
Marc Polymeropoulos, Former Senior Intelligence Official
Dr. Ronan Mainprize, Stockholm School of Economics
Dr. Niklas Rossbach, Swedish Defence University (Försvarshögskolan)
Professor Hans Jörgensen, Umeå University
AJI Intelligence and Security Digital Seminar Series, 2026
Upcoming Seminars
10 February 2026 - 10:00 EST / 15:00 GMT / 16:00 CET
John Blaxland - Revealing Secrets About the Antecedents of the Five Eyes Network
Abstract: This lecture examines the evolution of signals intelligence (SIGINT) and cyber capabilities as core pillars of the Five Eyes intelligence partnership. Tracing developments from early cryptology and wartime SIGINT cooperation to contemporary cyber operations, it highlights how technological change, alliance trust, and shared operational experience shaped enduring intelligence integration among Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand. Case studies from the Second World War, the Cold War, and post–Cold War operations illustrate continuity and adaptation in intelligence practice. The lecture concludes by assessing contemporary challenges—from cyber vulnerability to alliance strain—and explores future trajectories for Five Eyes cooperation in an increasingly contested Indo-Pacific environment.
Bio: Dr John Blaxland is Director of the ANU North America Liaison Office and Professor of International Security and Intelligence Studies in the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC), Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific at the Australian National University (ANU). A former Australian military intelligence officer, he is a trusted and highly regarded historian who has authored or co-authored over a dozen broad-ranging works on international, military, security and intelligence affairs including: Revealing Secrets: An Unofficial History of Australian Signals Intelligence and the Advent of Cyber (UNSW Press, 2023); The Secret Cold War: the official history of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), Vol. III (Allen & Unwin, 2016); and The Protest Years: the official history of ASIO, Vol., II (Allen & Unwin, 2015). He is also an occasional media commentator.
10 March 2026 - 10:00 EST / 15:00 GMT / 16:00 CET
Past Seminars 2026
27 January 2026 - 10:00 EST / 15:00 GMT / 16:00 CET
Jeffrey Rogg – Book Talk: The Spy and the State: The History of American Intelligence
Abstract: Is the NSA spying on Americans? It wouldn't be the first time. Does the CIA still assassinate people? Depends on what you mean by "assassinate." Is the intelligence community really a "deep state" that subverts American democracy? Not exactly, but it has interfered in politics too often in US history. These types of questions have preoccupied the American people and international audiences in recent years. But the origins of these and other controversies reach back even further in US history. The Spy and the State provides readers with the foundation to understand the past, navigate the present, and shape the future of American intelligence.
Bio: Dr. Jeffrey Rogg is Senior Research Fellow at the University of South Florida’s Global and National Security Institute. Previously, he was an assistant professor at the Joint Special Operations University (U.S. Special Operations Command) and The Citadel. He was also a postdoctoral fellow in the National Security Affairs Department at the U.S. Naval War College.
Jeff is the vice president of the Society for Intelligence History and an assistant editor of Intelligence and National Security. His work has appeared in several academic journals and volumes as well as media including The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The National Interest, The Hill, and the Los Angeles Times. Jeff’s book, The Spy and the State: The History of American Intelligence, was published by Oxford University Press in June 2025.
Jeff has a BA in Latin and ancient history from Swarthmore College, a JD from Villanova University School of Law, an MA in security studies from Georgetown University, and a PhD in history from The Ohio State University. He served six years in the Massachusetts Army National Guard as an infantryman.
Contact
For questions about the programme, events, or collaboration:
Matthew Hefler – Project Lead, AJI Intelligence and Security Programme and Senior Research Fellow, Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication