New intel academy hosts workshop in Ankara

ANKARA

A new academy established under Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MİT) held a workshop in the capital Ankara on July 26 and 27, gathering leading academics in the field.

The event aimed to address the "importance of systematizing an academic perspective" within the sector.

“We aim to create an intelligence community that will contribute to the development of this field by looking at intelligence, which is a craft, from an academic perspective,” National Intelligence Academy head Talha Köse said in his address at the workshop.

The workshop provided a platform for discussing various issues related to intelligence studies. It attracted academics conducting research and publishing in this domain from diverse disciplines.

"Almost all actors who want to play a more active role in world politics focus on studies in the field of intelligence, increase their budgets in this regard and increase their engagement with academia," Köse noted.

He said the "transition to a multipolar world" is fueling this transformation.

The participants concluded that Türkiye has an "increasing capacity" in countries such as Syria, Iraq, Libya and Somalia.

“There are developments especially in [Türkiye's] military, police and other fields, but in terms of developing these with a more strategic notion, there is a greater need for intelligence,” Köse added.

He also pointed out evolving perspectives on intelligence both within Türkiye and globally.

The MİT's website outlines the academy's mission to "contribute to the establishment and development of the field of intelligence as a science in Türkiye."

The newly-established body is set to begin accepting students for master's and doctoral programs in the fall of this year, with studies covering intelligence, security, strategy, regional studies, cyber security, cryptology, satellite-space systems, AI, data analytics and related fields.

Early this year, the academy has unveiled its first study report, shedding light on the surge of right-wing extremist movements in Europe.

It focused on the alarming rise of right-wing extremism in Western countries throughout 2023 and delved into media coverage, political discourse and legal efforts aimed at combating these movements.

The foreword highlighted the significance of addressing far-right ideologies as they "also target Turks."

The report identified Denmark, the U.S., Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden, the Netherlands, France and Austria as the most active countries in the context of the far-right during the year.

It said Europe experienced the most intense anti-Islam and anti-Turkish sentiment, with “threatening letters sent to mosques in Germany and Quran burnings in Nordic countries gaining significant attention.”

Notably, the report called on Western states to "legally guarantee the distinction between personal freedom of expression and hate crimes" as part of a broader strategy to combat extremism.