The mystery of intra-alliance intelligence: Turkey's covert operations in the Cyprus conflict

Abstract

Intra-alliance intelligence is utilised to collect, process and evaluate information about allies. This task played a critical role when the Southern Flank of NATO, Greece and Turkey caused a severe dispute in Cyprus which has been Europe's longest remaining cold conflict. The Turkish Secret Service's operations in Cyprus during its origins in the Cold War and the intra-alliance intelligence task have been largely overlooked in the existing literature. The article aims to close this gap through a threefold analysis: support for resistance, operational assistance, and capabilities and war preparedness. The investigation of Turkey's covert operations in Cyprus between 1953 and 1970 reveals the route of intra-alliance espionage in the Cyprus conflict and helps understanding how states act covertly against their allies. The article uses archival documents in the UK and Turkey that provide extensive declassified secret documents to assess the covert action of Turkish intelligence in the Cyprus conflict.