Comparing and Disrupting Foreign Intelligence Analysis Units

Today, global communities incorporate a wide range of intelligence analysis units. While Foreign Intelligence Services (FIS) are a regular subject of academic study, the particulars of foreign analytical intelligence units, hereafter referred to as analysis units, are understudied. Analysis units play a critical role in processing collected intelligence into meaningful products that inform government decision-making, and discussing these units will begin to address a gap in the literature. The structural characteristics, cognitive pathologies, and vulnerabilities shape their analytic output and can be systematically exploited to create a decision advantage for the United States.