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

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.