The ties that bind: Intelligence cooperation between the UKUSA countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand

by Jeffrey T. Richelson, Desmond Ball

This work offers an account of a secret treaty entered upon by Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada and New Zealand in 1947, and which concerned the creation of a global network of security and intelligence co-operation amongst the participants. The book examines each of the countries' intelligence communities and also traces the web of inter-relationships amongst the five countries over the 30 years of the existence of the treaty, assessing the costs and benefits of secretive co-operation. Also included is a chapter examining recent changes and new disclosures that have taken place in the last five years and the implications for the future. The authors jointly edited "Strategic Nuclear Targetting" and Desmond Ball is the author of "A Suitable Piece of Real American Institutions in Australia", "A Base for Debate" and "Pine Gap".

Hardcover

Published January 1, 1986

Reviews

[Mitchell]

Undoubtedly a foundational text in what is now a proliferating body of scholarship on the Five Eyes partnership. Many factual details in this book remain stranded in time, as they have since been corrected or simply superseded (from bureaucratic structures to budgets, legislative arrangements, and so on). Nevertheless, many of the observations and philosophical issues discussed in this book - between collection and analysis, policy and operations, and liberty and security - remain, for better or worse, as relevant as ever.