Description
In recent decades, constructivist theory has been increasingly applied to the discipline of international relations; however, this paper requests particular attention to be paid to the subfield of critical security studies, specifically the study of covert action, which continues to pose intriguing challenges in IR. The subjects of security studies and covert action have long lacked the involvement of social and ideational thought, which this paper argues is crucial in cultivating comprehensive and socially intelligent understandings of security. There indeed exists critical literature which bridges the subjects of covert action and theory, however, like other subfields of IR study, the work surrounding covert action has often been infused with traditional perspectives and analytical approaches: “The impact of covert action, and intelligence more generally, on international relations is under-theorised… Under-theorisation poses a significant intellectual and policy problem” (Cormac, Van Puyvelde, and Walton, 2022: 111-112). In particular, this paper aims to embrace the concepts of dynamic norm, culture, and identity politics when dissecting state secrecy and covert action. Identity and interest, here declared to be non-static systemic elements and drivers of action, play a key and underrated role in the evaluation of covert security matters. These claims challenge classic conceptualizations of the IR subfields, inviting more holistic and sociological approaches via this emphasis on endogenously defined interests and identities. This paper proposes that interest- and identity-formation, producible and reproducible via social processes and interactions, must be considered within theory-based interpretations of security and covert action. Covert action will continue to serve as a consequential tool of foreign policy with the ability to impact global realities. To establish the connection between such a tool and the role of identity in interest-formation is to labor towards an understanding of covert action and theory through an increasingly appropriate analytical lens.
