I've just learned that Christopher Bell passed away in May 2024, which I somehow missed until now. I wrote a short tribute to a great historian who also once bought me a coffee at Kew. yusufozkan.substack.com/p/a-belated-...

Great to see @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social using the PLOS Open Science Indicators to analyze open research practices across their institution. Insightful work from @yozkan.bsky.social using our dataset with @dataseerai.bsky.social.

New blog post 📊 I analysed the 2025 PLOS Open Science Indicators to explore how Imperial research adopts #openresearch practices. blogs.imperial.ac.uk/openaccess/2...

Using the @plos.org Open Science Indicators to: '1) understand the level of open research adoption at @imperialcollegeldn.bsky.social 2) outline a simple methodology that other institutions can easily implement for their own analyses.' @yozkan.bsky.social blogs.imperial.ac.uk/openaccess/2...

🎄 It’s that time of the year when the buzz of work quiets down and we get the time to rest before ringing in the new year — and pick up a book or two. 🥳 If you find yourself in need of last-minute holiday gift ideas, look no further than our KCSI-approved book guide!

📄 From the impact of growing digitalisation on intelligence to Czechoslovakia’s complex relationship with Middle Eastern revolutionaries, our KCSI members have been busy with sharing their expert insights in several publications this month. 🔗 All publications can be found here: kcsi.uk/publications

📚 Call for submissions: 2025 Polly Corrigan and Kjetil Hatlebrekke Book Prizes The King’s Centre for the Study of Intelligence is pleased to open nominations for two distinguished awards celebrating excellence in intelligence and security studies.

OK, Turkey experts, oil experts, historians, sleuths. I'm looking at a 1945 US intelligence document about a clandestine source in "Oil City." This source is being paid in Turkish lira. What do you think Oil City is and why? I do not know the answer to this.

Since search is dead, how soon do you think Google Scholar is headed for the Google Graveyard? I'm betting it's soon, and academia is NOT prepared

🔎 Times are changing — and so are we. The King’s Centre for the Study of Intelligence is now on Instagram. Follow for insights on intelligence, security, and global affairs, plus highlights from our research, events, and teaching. 👉 instagram.com/kcsi.uk

This sounds amazing!

Despite working on US intelligence in World War I off and on since 2006 and despite the fact that I'm slowly writing a journal article on memoirs of American intelligence veterans (all of them), I learned today of the existence of such a memoir that was entirely new to me. #research? #serendipity!

🚨Publication alert🚨 Our latest Insights piece by Satoshi Yoda - about Cold War operations in Japan - is out now: kcsi.uk/kcsi-insight...

My third book. All published by Oxford University Press.

"Best Gallipoli books from a Turkish perspective? Here are five essential works in English." littlegully.com/blog/best-ga...

Any idea who might have signed this memorandum? It was a War Office memo dated 01 Sep 1914. Possibly initials like ASD, but I'm not entirely sure. I've checked the War Office List, but couldn't spot any names. #skystorians

'Bluesky has overtaken its flailing rival X in hosting posts related to new academic research, indicating the platform is fast becoming the go-to place for scholars to share their work.'

📑 My latest for @warontherocks.bsky.social: #BulgarianSpies #JanMarsalek #OldBailey #WarInUkraine #FSB #GRU The largest spy trial in UK history revealed an unusual espionage network & how Moscow's covert ops escalated shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 👉 shorturl.at/ymu4U

🚨Publication alert 🚨Our latest Insights contribution by Dr Huw Dylan - an obituary of Oleg Gordievsky - is now live! kcsi.uk/kcsi-insight...

Oleg Gordievsky has died. What makes him so interesting is that he illustrates the stabilising role intelligence can play: he helped Reagan & Thatcher understand the USSR was genuinely worried about nuclear war, allowing them to take that into account in their policy www.bbc.com/news/article...

Celebrating SIH Authors! Check out these excellent reads: Gurkan, Emrah Safa. Spies for the Sultan: Ottoman Intelligence in the. Great Rivalry with Spain. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2024.

I wrote this in 2022: the most important capability in statecraft is to be able to decide, and sometimes to take the initiative. No amount of defence spending will help if the structures for understanding, deciding and acting are weak. engelsbergideas.com/essays/eleme...

The very first reaction by the FO clerk to the news of the Ottoman Black Sea raid on 29 October 1914. He might just be the first person contributing to the enduring debate over who was responsible for the Ottoman entry into war. It reminds me Mustafa Aksakal 's great work doi.org/10.1017/CBO9...

I've co-authored a short post with @openscihamid.bsky.social about Imperial research outputs cited on @bsky.app. By using @altmetric.com, we found a massive uptick in mentions of Imperial publications on Bluesky from mid-November 2024. Read the full post here: blogs.imperial.ac.uk/openaccess/2...

This 👇 “Misinformation was a key feature of medieval politics and society. Examining the spread of fake news, or conspiracy theories, in the centuries before even the printing press, never mind the internet, helps us understand how they flourish and their appeal.”

Source collections like these Zotero groups are incredibly cool and and awesome way to dive into a topic beyond just what you will find with a simple JSTOR search.

Collaborative Zotero libraries on airpower, the first world war, and intelligence studies How super useful bsky.app/profile/yozk...

It's a fantastic library and definitely worth following & supporting. I really value initiatives like this. They're collaborative, open source, and research user-friendly. You might also be interested in other libraries: First World War: @fwwsoc.bsky.social Intelligence studies: @intelarchive.io

This is a perfect pit stop while reading Mesut Uyar’s book on the FWW.

I talked about Atatürk and strategy in the latest episode RUSI's Talking Strategy. You can listen from the link below rusi.org/podcasts/tal...

Started reading @jamesbarr.bsky.social's classic again. Highly recommended if you have not read it yet. I believe there is a need for an enlarged new edition.

Could 2024 be considered the golden year of #intelligence studies? Based on @intelarchive.io data, the answer is yes. A mini thread about publications on intelligence studies in 2024. +

In this short piece, I've tried to summarise what we've achieved in the last 12 months at the KCSI. It was a busy but very productive year.

This blog post by @yozkan.bsky.social shows the King's Centre for the Study of Intelligence (KCSI) is going from strength to strength 🥳

Our final Insights post of the year is now out - an Insight into KCSI in 2024 by @yozkan.bsky.social kcsi.uk/kcsi-insight...

We're pleased to announce that the winner of the 2024 Polly Corrigan Book Prize is Sophie Durroy (@sophieduroy.bsky.social). Sophie's book 'The Regulation of Intelligence Activities under International Law' published by @elgarpublishing.bsky.social. won the prize. Read more about the prize:

An early Christmas present for anyone interested in intelligence leadership! Our latest blog post on KCSI Insights by @drceliap-v.bsky.social is now available: kcsi.uk/kcsi-insight...

Lots of new additions to the collaborative bibliography on #FWWHist out shortly on the @fwwsoc.bsky.social feed!

📊New article with Steve Ward looking at the reporting on the UK intelligence community in the national press. 👀 We look at the trends in media reporting - content, tone, references to popular fiction - & the impact of openness. Free to read and link ⏬️ 🔗 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

BLUESKY MEGA-THREAD Altmetric is thrilled and also LITERALLY RELIEVED to officially announce: We are now tracking research attention as it happens on Bluesky! We have been picking up posts on the site since late Oct. Our team is on Bluesky all day answering questions. Let's get into it!

Scientists, academics, researchers: We’re excited to share that @altmetric.com is now tracking mentions of your research on Bluesky! 🧪

Excellent news! I am really looking forward to seeing the effects of migration of researchers from the other place to here!

I fear we'll start seeing some unnecessary accounts coming from the other place. I wish there was something similar to Starter Packs in @bsky.app so that we could block some accounts in bulk suggested by people we trust.

We're organising fantastic events on #intelligence like this throughout the year. Don’t miss out—stay updated on upcoming events and more by visiting our website at kcsi.uk and joining our mailing list here: kcsi.uk/contact.

✍️"In any modern democracy, it is important that the agencies have their voice". The spies make their case engelsbergideas.com/notebook/the...

There's now one month(ish) left to get your abstracts in for 'The Second World War: 80 Years on', which will be held in London in June 2025. Individual or panel proposals welcome. Keynotes: Profs Sheldon Garon and Juliette Pattinson. The lead organiser is the fantastic @meganahamilton.bsky.social

Re-upping my starter pack for Intelligence Studies and Practitioners as there have been a number of additions recently. I hope that there can be even more in the future as more colleagues continue to migrate over here.

🎬 Thrilled to have welcomed #MarkStrong at @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social! Hosted by MA in Inteligence & International Security, we explored his iconic roles in #TinkerTailor #ZeroDarkThirty #Kingsman. For years, Strong’s 🕵️‍♂️ characters have shaped #spyfiction & public perception of the #intelworld.

If I've done this right, here is a starter pack I've put together on intelligence studies and practitioners. It tilts toward historians but includes people with useful perspectives from any direction. It focuses mostly on governmental intel rather than private sector or non-governmental open source.