Member Opportunities

Need to Know XV: Intelligence and Minorities, Sønderborg/Flensburg, 26–27 November 2026

When does a societal group become a matter of intelligence and national security? This is a key question for intelligence services. When is someone becoming a threat and therefore a subject of surveillance and operations by intelligence agencies at home or abroad? A common pattern across many countries and political systems is that minority groups are more likely to be perceived as potential threats and therefore considered legitimate intelligence targets than a promising advantage and opportunity.

This year’s Need to Know conference focuses on minorities, whether national, ethnic, political, or religious, in the eyes of intelligence and counterintelligence services. National minorities for example challenge both the concept of the nation-state and, at times, existing borders. As a result, they are often mistrusted by the intelligence services of their host states as potential separatists, or in some cases instrumentalized by their kin states. And both religious and ethnic minorities were subject to massive repression by communist regimes during the Cold War. They were surveilled at home and often felt the long arm of foreign intelligence services in the diaspora, where they continued to be monitored.

Many factors influence decisions on when minorities become intelligence targets. Totalitarian regimes or authoritarian states decide differently than democracies. The degree of surveillance and the use of powerful intelligence tools against minorities may even serve as a measure of a state’s democratic maturity. Minority rights today constitute a core European value, yet they remain contested and complex, not only, but also for intelligence and security practice.

We hereby invite submissions for papers or panel proposals for this year’s Need to Know conference, which will take place in the heart of the Danish–German borderland—a region with a contested past. Intelligence has long played a role in national struggles over borders and in the surveillance of minorities. Although the region is now widely recognized as a model of peaceful coexistence, intelligence services on both sides of the border continued to monitor their respective national minorities well into the Cold War.

The Need to Know network welcomes submissions on this topic, especially empirically grounded studies addressing questions such as:

• Legitimizing minorities as intelligence targets – reasons and rationales
• Utilization of minorities by intelligence
• Surveillance operations against national, ethnic, political, or religious minorities
• Consequences of intelligence surveillance for minority communities
• Covert actions against minorities or in minority-related conflicts
• Intelligence operations abroad targeting minority representatives
• Coordination between foreign and domestic intelligence
• Differences between authoritarian and democratic systems in the handling of minority-related intelligence
• De-escalation or termination of intelligence operations

The conference is organized by the Center for Cold War Studies at the University of Southern Denmark in cooperation with the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation; the Research Department of the Danish Central Library for Southern Schleswig; the King’s Centre for the Study of Intelligence, King’s College London; and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research on Consequences of War. The conference is in publication partnership with the Journals Aparat Represji w Polsce Ludowej and the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence.

Accommodation and meals will be covered for presenters. The conference may also contribute to travel expenses upon application.

Deadline for paper proposals: 15 August 2026.

Submissions should include:

An abstract of 500–700 words in English

A biographical note (max. 250 words) listing major professional accomplishments

Young Researcher Table:

As part of the conference, the organizers also invite participants to discuss practices of intelligence research with a round table of junior researchers. The aims of the discussion are not finished projects or results but rather the ways and challenges of intelligence research. Presenting work in progress, the issues discussed will be differences of intelligence history to other historical topics, the challenge of finding adequate research questions and sources, and how the special conditions of intelligence research influence scholars.

The Conference Organizational Committee will notify selected speakers by Mid-September.

2026 Naval Intelligence Essay Contest

Cosponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and Naval Intelligence Professionals

The Challenge

The Chief of Naval Operations has set forth a “hedge strategy” that seeks to balance “cost-effective, scalable, risk-worthy mass with the most advanced multi-mission platforms we can build and sustain.” It is, he asserts, a strategy that “unabashedly embraces risk to tip the scales in our advantage.” This year’s naval intelligence essay contest invites you to explore the implications
of the CNO’s vision and then propose a path for naval intelligence to adapt, inform, and shape the Navy and nation. Potential topics include:

• What does a naval intelligence “hedge strategy” look like?
• Where should naval intelligence deliberately seek and accept risk—and where is it currently accepting unarticulated risk that should be understood and mitigated?
• How does the Information Warfare command-at-sea construct change
  how naval intelligence professionals should think about and practice
  their craft?
• As artificial intelligence grows in capability and capacity, should analysis remain a core function of naval intelligence? If so, what
  form should it take?
• What lessons should naval intelligence take from recent combat operations across the globe—and what potential lessons could
  represent negative learning for future operational environments?

Submission Guidelines

• Open to all contributors -- active-duty military, reservists, veterans, and civilians.
• Essays must be no more than 2,500 words, excluding end notes and sources. Include word count on title page of the essay.
• Essays are judged in the blind. Do not include author name(s) on the title page or within the body of the essay.
• Submit essay as a Word document at www.usni.org/navalintelligence no later than 31 July 2026.
• Essay must be original and not previously published (online or in print) or being considered for publication elsewhere.

First Prize: $5,000

Second Prize: $2,500

Third Prize: $1,500

Selection Process

A panel of expert judges compiled by the U.S.  Naval Institute and Naval Intelligence Professionals will evaluate and judge all entries submitted to the contest. Essays will be judged in the blind—i.e., the judging panel will not know the authors of the essays. Since we receive so many submissions (more than 100 per month!), notification of acceptance on one of our platforms can take 4-6 months. We will notify you via email if your essay is selected for a prize or for publication.

Announcement of the Winners

Winners will be recognized at the Naval Intelligence Professionals' Annual Meeting in the Fall.

Special Issue on Psychology and Intelligence

Expressions of Interest: 1 February 2026 (Title/Abstract) 
Initial Submission Deadline: 1 March 2027 
Word Count: 7,000-10,000

Intelligence and National Security invites submissions for a special issue on Political Psychology and Intelligence. This issue seeks to highlight the intersection between intelligence gathering and analysis including career advancement, and the political and psychological factors that may influence it.

The special issue offers an opportunity to explore the ways in which intelligence gathering and analysis may be affected by political and psychological factors broadly constructed. This might include work on the way political or other biases might influence self-selection into intelligence work, procedures around recruitment, hiring and promotion, intelligence collection, analysis or interpretation of information. In addition, work that explores the way ubiquitous psychological biases can affect all aspects of the intelligence space, including the collection and processing of information is strongly encouraged.

The goal of the special issue is to highlight often unrecognized or ignored aspect of intelligence collection and analysis and to raise awareness of the role of psychological processes in intelligence. The journal of Intelligence and National Security is seeking research articles that investigate these themes in systematic and in-depth fashion. Articles enhancing theorical construction as well as empirical papers are welcome.

We invite research paper submissions that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

• The politicization of intelligence
• Leadership analysis
• The way specific psychological bias can influence intelligence collection or analysis
• How psychology might be useful in counterintelligence programs
• How psychological factors enter into decisions to join the intelligence community
• How political bias can influence the interpretation of data
• Personality effects on intelligence work
• How and whether psychological analysis of adversaries can provide useful information

Current or Former Defense Intelligence Enterprise Professionals [NEW]

Are you interested in contributing to research on all-source analytical expertise in the Defense Intelligence Enterprise? We are seeking individuals with at least five years of all-source analysis experience at the Defense Intelligence Agency, including the Joint Intelligence Operations Centers, Missiles and Space Intelligence Center, and the Service Intelligence Centers. This study involves a questionnaire about your and education experiences. An optional follow-on 45-minute interview is available for those who would like to contribute to a deeper understanding of all-source analytic expertise. Participation in the interview will be compensated.

Current or Former Intelligence Professionals

Are you interested in contributing to research on how intelligence and decision-makers collaborate? We are seeking individuals with professional experience in intelligence operations, either in current or previous roles within law enforcement, military departments, federal agencies, or the private sector. We are particularly interested in those who have been involved in collecting, analyzing, and disseminating intelligence that directly informs organizational goals/missions. We also seek those who have been in roles that make decisions based on such intelligence. This study involves an interview lasting approximately 1 hour to explore your experiences and contribute to a deeper understanding of this critical area of collaboration. Participation in the interview will be compensated.

View Flyer for additional information.