African Spycraft : Examining Africa's Overlooked Intelligence Traditions

The twenty-first century is marked by the power of information; its generation, processing, distribution and consumption. However, Africa is constantly depicted in media and literature as being in the subaltern position vis-à-vis the hegemonic West on the matter of intelligence gathering. This perceived subordinate position does not solely stem from Africa's reliance on the support of the West to face its gravest security threats; it is partly due to a dearth of Afro-centred research on African intelligence systems and the factors that have contributed to their evolution. To fill this gap, this study explores how African intelligence systems; from indigenous pre-colonial practices through colonial adaptation to contemporary regional cooperation, have developed with unique collection, analysis, and production techniques shaped by local contexts. Using historical analysis and comparative case studies of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, and Ghana, the study establishes that Africa's intelligence culture has been deeply shaped by international conflict. Colonization, the Cold War and the American-led "War on Terror", as well as the unipolar international system have all impacted Africa's intelligence systems. Key findings of this study demonstrate that pre-colonial African civilizations had advanced human intelligence networks, colonial intelligence systems were adapted and not inherited, and that the current regional collaboration using Committee of Intelligence and Security Service of Africa (CISSA) and Continental Early Warning Systems (CEWS) is real African innovation in intelligence sharing. This study uses the postcolonial theory to describe how African intelligence systems have been adapting and changing as historic regional cooperation efforts respond to regional security concerns. The main recommendations of the study are the reinforcement of regional intelligence collaboration, development of indigenous education institutions, the building of cyber capabilities, and African-centered scholarship on emerging security threats.