Fixing the Facts: National Security and the Politics of Intelligence

Awards:   Winner of Winner of the 2011 Edgar S. Furniss Book Award giv.
Author:   Joshua Rovner
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
ISBN:  

9781501700736


Pages:   280
Publication Date:   03 September 2015
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Format:   Paperback
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Our Price $86.99 Quantity:  
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Fixing the Facts: National Security and the Politics of Intelligence


Awards

  • Winner of Winner of the 2011 Edgar S. Furniss Book Award giv.

Overview

Full Product Details

Author:   Joshua Rovner
Publisher:   Cornell University Press
Imprint:   Cornell University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.454kg
ISBN:  

9781501700736


ISBN 10:   1501700731
Pages:   280
Publication Date:   03 September 2015
Recommended Age:   From 18 years
Audience:   General/trade ,  General
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand   Availability explained
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

Preface 1. A Basic Problem: The Uncertain Role of Intelligence in National Security 2. Pathologies of Intelligence-Policy Relations 3. Policy Oversell and Politicization 4. The Johnson Administration and the Vietnam Estimates 5. The Nixon Administration and the Soviet Strategic Threat 6. The Ford Administration and the Team B Affair 7. Intelligence, Policy, and the War in Iraq 8. Politics, Politicization, and the Need for Secrecy Appendix A: Pathologies of Intelligence-Policy Relations Appendix B: Varieties of Politicization Notes Index

Reviews

"""Intelligence should inform policymakers without pandering to them. In practice, it proves easy to honor either one of these aims but surprisingly hard to accomplish both at once. Joshua Rovner's careful study of the subtle dynamics of this balancing act is a model of intelligent, balanced, and policy-relevant scholarship.""-Richard K. Betts, Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University ""If leaders are free to disregard unwelcome intelligence estimates, why would they pressure analysts to alter their reports? Joshua Rovner answers this question by identifying how intelligence can empower officials facing domestic political pressures and constraints. Fixing the Facts advances our theoretical and practical understanding of intelligence politicization by highlighting the politics at the heart of the intelligence-policy nexus.""-James J. Wirtz, Dean of the School of International Graduate Studies, Monterey, California ""Fixing the Facts is an insightful exploration of how relations between intelligence officers and policymakers too often go sour. Joshua Rovner convincingly shows that politicization has been a persistent phenomenon and that many of the best-known errors and controversies involving intelligence are rooted in politics and in efforts by leaders to sell their policies to the public.""-Paul R. Pillar, Georgetown University, former senior CIA official ""In this rigorous and penetrating examination of the oft-mentioned but virtually opaque mystery of how politicization affects intelligence work, Joshua Rovner accomplishes more-even furnishing a taxonomy of the genus-than anyone in decades. No interested reader or intelligence professional can afford to miss Fixing the Facts.""-John Prados, author of How the Cold War Ended ""Does intelligence shape policy, or do policy and politics shape intelligence? Joshua Rovner's careful theorizing and in-depth historical studies provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the complex relationships among intelligence, policy, and politics. Fixing the Facts is essential reading for theorists, historians, and the intelligence and policy communities.""-Jack S. Levy, Board of Governors' Professor, Rutgers University"


Intelligence should inform policymakers without pandering to them. In practice, it proves easy to honor either one of these aims but surprisingly hard to accomplish both at once. Joshua Rovner's careful study of the subtle dynamics of this balancing act is a model of intelligent, balanced, and policy-relevant scholarship. -Richard K. Betts, Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University If leaders are free to disregard unwelcome intelligence estimates, why would they pressure analysts to alter their reports? Joshua Rovner answers this question by identifying how intelligence can empower officials facing domestic political pressures and constraints. Fixing the Facts advances our theoretical and practical understanding of intelligence politicization by highlighting the politics at the heart of the intelligence-policy nexus. -James J. Wirtz, Dean of the School of International Graduate Studies, Monterey, California Fixing the Facts is an insightful exploration of how relations between intelligence officers and policymakers too often go sour. Joshua Rovner convincingly shows that politicization has been a persistent phenomenon and that many of the best-known errors and controversies involving intelligence are rooted in politics and in efforts by leaders to sell their policies to the public. -Paul R. Pillar, Georgetown University, former senior CIA official In this rigorous and penetrating examination of the oft-mentioned but virtually opaque mystery of how politicization affects intelligence work, Joshua Rovner accomplishes more-even furnishing a taxonomy of the genus-than anyone in decades. No interested reader or intelligence professional can afford to miss Fixing the Facts. -John Prados, author of How the Cold War Ended Does intelligence shape policy, or do policy and politics shape intelligence? Joshua Rovner's careful theorizing and in-depth historical studies provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the complex relationships among intelligence, policy, and politics. Fixing the Facts is essential reading for theorists, historians, and the intelligence and policy communities. -Jack S. Levy, Board of Governors' Professor, Rutgers University


""Intelligence should inform policymakers without pandering to them. In practice, it proves easy to honor either one of these aims but surprisingly hard to accomplish both at once. Joshua Rovner's careful study of the subtle dynamics of this balancing act is a model of intelligent, balanced, and policy-relevant scholarship.""-Richard K. Betts, Director, Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies, Columbia University ""If leaders are free to disregard unwelcome intelligence estimates, why would they pressure analysts to alter their reports? Joshua Rovner answers this question by identifying how intelligence can empower officials facing domestic political pressures and constraints. Fixing the Facts advances our theoretical and practical understanding of intelligence politicization by highlighting the politics at the heart of the intelligence-policy nexus.""-James J. Wirtz, Dean of the School of International Graduate Studies, Monterey, California ""Fixing the Facts is an insightful exploration of how relations between intelligence officers and policymakers too often go sour. Joshua Rovner convincingly shows that politicization has been a persistent phenomenon and that many of the best-known errors and controversies involving intelligence are rooted in politics and in efforts by leaders to sell their policies to the public.""-Paul R. Pillar, Georgetown University, former senior CIA official ""In this rigorous and penetrating examination of the oft-mentioned but virtually opaque mystery of how politicization affects intelligence work, Joshua Rovner accomplishes more-even furnishing a taxonomy of the genus-than anyone in decades. No interested reader or intelligence professional can afford to miss Fixing the Facts.""-John Prados, author of How the Cold War Ended ""Does intelligence shape policy, or do policy and politics shape intelligence? Joshua Rovner's careful theorizing and in-depth historical studies provide a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the complex relationships among intelligence, policy, and politics. Fixing the Facts is essential reading for theorists, historians, and the intelligence and policy communities.""-Jack S. Levy, Board of Governors' Professor, Rutgers University


Author Information

Joshua Rovner is the John Goodwin Tower Professor of International Politics and National Security at Southern Methodist University, where he also serves as Director of Studies at the Tower Center for Political Studies.

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