The United States global biosecurity programme dates back to the early 1960s, when the CIA began monitoring disease outbreaks in Asia. Today, America’s biosurveillance and biodefense functions encompass dozens of federal agencies, and are among the most advanced in the world. So why was Washington’s response to COVID-19 so catastrophically slow, resulting in a biosecurity disaster of unparalleled magnitude? Drawing from the American experience, this talk will explore the lessons of the SARS-CoV-2 for strategic warning intelligence in our volatile and unpredictable times.

About the presenter

Joseph Fitsanakis (joe@intelnews.org) is Associate Professor of Politics at Coastal Carolina University in the United States, where he teaches in the Intelligence and National Security Studies program. He has written extensively on intelligence and security, and has published research on intelligence agencies in the United States, Greece, China, Sudan, and North Korea, among other countries. Before joining Coastal Carolina University, Joseph built the Security and Intelligence Studies program at King University, where he also directed the King Institute for Security and Intelligence Studies. He is also deputy director of the European Intelligence Academy and manging editor of The Journal of European and American Intelligence Studies. Joseph is a proud alumnus of Edinburgh University, having received his MSc from the Science Studies Unit in 1997, and his PhD from the Department of Politics and International Relations in 2002.