Rory Cormac
@rorycormac.bsky.social
Professor: Subversion & Secret Statecraft | Author: Fakers (coming 2026); Disrupt & Deny; How to Stage a Coup; Crown, Cloak, & Dagger
Reposted by Rory Cormac
The Name of the Game is Death by Dan Marlowe
The Chaos Agent Mark Greaney
Elric Vol. 2 Michael Morecock
The Anointed HP Lovecraft
Covert Action by @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social
The Present Age by Soren Kierkegaard
Those Who Face Death Mark Grdovic
The Chaos Agent Mark Greaney
Elric Vol. 2 Michael Morecock
The Anointed HP Lovecraft
Covert Action by @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social
The Present Age by Soren Kierkegaard
Those Who Face Death Mark Grdovic
January 2, 2026 at 11:08 PM
The Name of the Game is Death by Dan Marlowe
The Chaos Agent Mark Greaney
Elric Vol. 2 Michael Morecock
The Anointed HP Lovecraft
Covert Action by @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social
The Present Age by Soren Kierkegaard
Those Who Face Death Mark Grdovic
The Chaos Agent Mark Greaney
Elric Vol. 2 Michael Morecock
The Anointed HP Lovecraft
Covert Action by @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social
The Present Age by Soren Kierkegaard
Those Who Face Death Mark Grdovic
Reposted by Rory Cormac
@rorycormac.bsky.social and I had a fantastic time with @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social on @theteamhouse.bsky.social - we talked #CovertAction; how and why states use it; and what we might miss if we apply the US approach too narrowly elsewhere. Watch it on #YouTube or listen on your fave #podcast app
Not going to leave you hanging during the holidays. Tonight we have a @theteamhouse.bsky.social episode with @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social about how various Intel agencies approach covert action.
youtu.be/j5cCGxOpR8w?...
youtu.be/j5cCGxOpR8w?...
How Different Countries Execute Covert Action
YouTube video by The Team House
youtu.be
December 28, 2025 at 9:07 AM
@rorycormac.bsky.social and I had a fantastic time with @jackmurphyrgr.bsky.social on @theteamhouse.bsky.social - we talked #CovertAction; how and why states use it; and what we might miss if we apply the US approach too narrowly elsewhere. Watch it on #YouTube or listen on your fave #podcast app
Reposted by Rory Cormac
Not going to leave you hanging during the holidays. Tonight we have a @theteamhouse.bsky.social episode with @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social about how various Intel agencies approach covert action.
youtu.be/j5cCGxOpR8w?...
youtu.be/j5cCGxOpR8w?...
How Different Countries Execute Covert Action
YouTube video by The Team House
youtu.be
December 27, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Not going to leave you hanging during the holidays. Tonight we have a @theteamhouse.bsky.social episode with @magslong.bsky.social and @rorycormac.bsky.social about how various Intel agencies approach covert action.
youtu.be/j5cCGxOpR8w?...
youtu.be/j5cCGxOpR8w?...
Well this is very generous and kind. Thanks @drichterova.bsky.social. So on trend it’s not even out yet! Thanks again for the advance read; I’m really looking forward to sharing it with everyone in the spring 😀
📖 Dr Daniela Richterova (@drichterova.bsky.social) recommends "Fakers: A Top-Secret Tale of Phantoms and Forgeries on the Disinformation Front Line" by @rorycormac.bsky.social (2026).
December 23, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Well this is very generous and kind. Thanks @drichterova.bsky.social. So on trend it’s not even out yet! Thanks again for the advance read; I’m really looking forward to sharing it with everyone in the spring 😀
Reposted by Rory Cormac
My @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast with @markstout.bsky.social, @magslong.bsky.social, and @rorycormac.bsky.social is now available. Learn more about covert action here:
newbooksnetwork.com/covert-action
newbooksnetwork.com/covert-action
Magda Long et. al., "Covert Action: National Approaches to Unacknowledged Intervention (Georgetown UP, 2025) - New Books Network
newbooksnetwork.com
December 10, 2025 at 6:28 AM
My @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social podcast with @markstout.bsky.social, @magslong.bsky.social, and @rorycormac.bsky.social is now available. Learn more about covert action here:
newbooksnetwork.com/covert-action
newbooksnetwork.com/covert-action
Reposted by Rory Cormac
'Disinformation exploits gaps in Western alliances and domestic politics, often making countermeasures difficult'
Read @rorycormac.bsky.social and Dan Lomas @sandbaggerone.bsky.social's written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on disinformation diplomacy ⬇️
tinyurl.com/eb3za49c
Read @rorycormac.bsky.social and Dan Lomas @sandbaggerone.bsky.social's written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on disinformation diplomacy ⬇️
tinyurl.com/eb3za49c
December 9, 2025 at 10:00 AM
'Disinformation exploits gaps in Western alliances and domestic politics, often making countermeasures difficult'
Read @rorycormac.bsky.social and Dan Lomas @sandbaggerone.bsky.social's written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on disinformation diplomacy ⬇️
tinyurl.com/eb3za49c
Read @rorycormac.bsky.social and Dan Lomas @sandbaggerone.bsky.social's written evidence to the Foreign Affairs Committee on disinformation diplomacy ⬇️
tinyurl.com/eb3za49c
£48 royalties!
Don’t worry kids, Christmas is saved!
Don’t worry kids, Christmas is saved!
a woman pushing a shopping cart in a grocery store with the words who 's on my list .
ALT: a woman pushing a shopping cart in a grocery store with the words who 's on my list .
media.tenor.com
November 29, 2025 at 7:51 AM
£48 royalties!
Don’t worry kids, Christmas is saved!
Don’t worry kids, Christmas is saved!
Today I learnt our uni has a “barrier committee” to determine when to open a recently installed (and much hated) barrier which prevents staff from driving from one side of campus to the other. And I just can’t stop laughing
a man wearing glasses and a lanyard is looking at the camera .
ALT: a man wearing glasses and a lanyard is looking at the camera .
media.tenor.com
November 28, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Today I learnt our uni has a “barrier committee” to determine when to open a recently installed (and much hated) barrier which prevents staff from driving from one side of campus to the other. And I just can’t stop laughing
Why, when the country is broke, is the DWP writing to advise me I’m entitled to my dead father’s winter fuel allowance??
November 27, 2025 at 6:04 PM
Why, when the country is broke, is the DWP writing to advise me I’m entitled to my dead father’s winter fuel allowance??
Few things more depressing than a door locked that is usually open, a staircase roped off which is usually clear, and three security guards standing outside - as, hidden away from staff and students, council votes on whether to close music and languages. Terribly terribly sad day.
November 25, 2025 at 3:22 PM
Few things more depressing than a door locked that is usually open, a staircase roped off which is usually clear, and three security guards standing outside - as, hidden away from staff and students, council votes on whether to close music and languages. Terribly terribly sad day.
So proud! Another Cambridge UP book to add to the multiple “world leading” articles, £1.1m UKRI bid, fantastic community work, an app aimed at school kids etc etc etc.
An absolute superstar!
An absolute superstar!
A lovely end to another crazy week: I’ve been offered a contract by Cambridge University Press for my new book: The Symphony in the North Atlantic World: A Transnational History (1800-1914). Woohoo!
November 21, 2025 at 8:40 PM
So proud! Another Cambridge UP book to add to the multiple “world leading” articles, £1.1m UKRI bid, fantastic community work, an app aimed at school kids etc etc etc.
An absolute superstar!
An absolute superstar!
It was quite something to hear a passionate call to protect music and languages during a Catholic Mass in Clifton estate yesterday.
I worry about the reputational impact in our own great city, let alone beyond
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
I worry about the reputational impact in our own great city, let alone beyond
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:48 PM
It was quite something to hear a passionate call to protect music and languages during a Catholic Mass in Clifton estate yesterday.
I worry about the reputational impact in our own great city, let alone beyond
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
I worry about the reputational impact in our own great city, let alone beyond
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Personal experience of this one, sadly.
I watched my dad die of a brain tumour over the past 6 months. The final couple of weeks were cruel, unnecessary, undignified, and neither in his wishes nor interests
He begged me to let him die.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I watched my dad die of a brain tumour over the past 6 months. The final couple of weeks were cruel, unnecessary, undignified, and neither in his wishes nor interests
He begged me to let him die.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Peers suggest over 900 changes to assisted dying bill
Experts say the volume is a record, and backers of the bill fear opponents are using delaying tactics.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 14, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Personal experience of this one, sadly.
I watched my dad die of a brain tumour over the past 6 months. The final couple of weeks were cruel, unnecessary, undignified, and neither in his wishes nor interests
He begged me to let him die.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I watched my dad die of a brain tumour over the past 6 months. The final couple of weeks were cruel, unnecessary, undignified, and neither in his wishes nor interests
He begged me to let him die.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Rory Cormac
Heartbroken to share the news that recruitment to Undergraduate Music courses at the University of Nottingham has been suspended.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
November 6, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Heartbroken to share the news that recruitment to Undergraduate Music courses at the University of Nottingham has been suspended.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
Please do contact us on protectuonmusic@gmail.com if you would like to support us.
Reposted by Rory Cormac
This quotes a university employee emailing about: "Attempting to retain the business in China".
The university says this doesn't reflect policy, but if it sees itself as a business, there's the issue.
Universities, like councils & the BBC, are *not businesses*.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
The university says this doesn't reflect policy, but if it sees itself as a business, there's the issue.
Universities, like councils & the BBC, are *not businesses*.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China
Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities
www.theguardian.com
November 3, 2025 at 7:47 AM
This quotes a university employee emailing about: "Attempting to retain the business in China".
The university says this doesn't reflect policy, but if it sees itself as a business, there's the issue.
Universities, like councils & the BBC, are *not businesses*.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
The university says this doesn't reflect policy, but if it sees itself as a business, there's the issue.
Universities, like councils & the BBC, are *not businesses*.
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Rory Cormac
“Propaganda operations in the Cold War were designed to undermine authority, chip away at orthodox ideas, and encourage questioning"
@rorycormac.bsky.social reveals to @telegraphnews.bsky.social how the CIA once tried to recruit Sir Winston Churchill 🔗➡️ tinyurl.com/mvp47n4h
Image cc: The Telegraph
@rorycormac.bsky.social reveals to @telegraphnews.bsky.social how the CIA once tried to recruit Sir Winston Churchill 🔗➡️ tinyurl.com/mvp47n4h
Image cc: The Telegraph
October 29, 2025 at 2:00 PM
“Propaganda operations in the Cold War were designed to undermine authority, chip away at orthodox ideas, and encourage questioning"
@rorycormac.bsky.social reveals to @telegraphnews.bsky.social how the CIA once tried to recruit Sir Winston Churchill 🔗➡️ tinyurl.com/mvp47n4h
Image cc: The Telegraph
@rorycormac.bsky.social reveals to @telegraphnews.bsky.social how the CIA once tried to recruit Sir Winston Churchill 🔗➡️ tinyurl.com/mvp47n4h
Image cc: The Telegraph
Reposted by Rory Cormac
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, and @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social's new article is a super read on an important but neglected area of covert action:
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
www.cambridge.org
October 23, 2025 at 3:54 PM
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, and @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social's new article is a super read on an important but neglected area of covert action:
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
www.cambridge.org/core/service...
Publishers: we have a strict word limit
Also publishers: all dates in the endnotes must be written out in full
Also publishers: all dates in the endnotes must be written out in full
October 21, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Publishers: we have a strict word limit
Also publishers: all dates in the endnotes must be written out in full
Also publishers: all dates in the endnotes must be written out in full
Reposted by Rory Cormac
New article out with @rorycormac.bsky.social & @jrovner.bsky.social on Sabotage in World Politics: how does it work, what is it good for, and how is it different from subversion?
#OpenAccess from @ejisbisa.bsky.social -
Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics - https://cup.org/4o2MQBc
- @jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social
#FirstView
Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics - https://cup.org/4o2MQBc
- @jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social
#FirstView
October 20, 2025 at 1:13 PM
New article out with @rorycormac.bsky.social & @jrovner.bsky.social on Sabotage in World Politics: how does it work, what is it good for, and how is it different from subversion?
Reposted by Rory Cormac
🔥 "Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics" from
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social is a must-read.
👉 Read this timely article here: cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org/core/journal...
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social is a must-read.
👉 Read this timely article here: cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org/core/journal...
October 20, 2025 at 1:34 PM
🔥 "Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics" from
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social is a must-read.
👉 Read this timely article here: cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org/core/journal...
@jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social, & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social is a must-read.
👉 Read this timely article here: cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Rory Cormac
What is sabotage? How does it work as a tool of statecraft? And what are its limits? Check out my new article with @rorycormac.bsky.social and @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social. Open access
#OpenAccess from @ejisbisa.bsky.social -
Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics - https://cup.org/4o2MQBc
- @jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social
#FirstView
Sand in the gears: Sabotage in world politics - https://cup.org/4o2MQBc
- @jrovner.bsky.social, @rorycormac.bsky.social & @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social
#FirstView
October 20, 2025 at 3:38 PM
What is sabotage? How does it work as a tool of statecraft? And what are its limits? Check out my new article with @rorycormac.bsky.social and @lmaschmeyer.bsky.social. Open access
When the MI5 chief warns that AI and hostile states are reshaping espionage in real time, it’s not a thriller plot - it’s just Thursday.
(Ps interesting reference to “threat” in the context of China given the spy trial fiasco)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
(Ps interesting reference to “threat” in the context of China given the spy trial fiasco)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
MI5 operating in new era of terror and state threats, says chief
In an annual speech, Sir Ken McCallum says the security service is operating in
www.bbc.co.uk
October 16, 2025 at 6:17 PM
When the MI5 chief warns that AI and hostile states are reshaping espionage in real time, it’s not a thriller plot - it’s just Thursday.
(Ps interesting reference to “threat” in the context of China given the spy trial fiasco)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
(Ps interesting reference to “threat” in the context of China given the spy trial fiasco)
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
The UK’s China spy trial collapsed because, legally, China wasn’t an “enemy” at the time.
Apparently, you can’t spy for a country unless the government has officially decided it dislikes them enough 🤷♂️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Apparently, you can’t spy for a country unless the government has officially decided it dislikes them enough 🤷♂️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Government will publish evidence in collapsed China case, PM says
The Tories and Lib Dems had called for witness statements provided to prosecutors to be released.
www.bbc.co.uk
October 15, 2025 at 7:12 PM
The UK’s China spy trial collapsed because, legally, China wasn’t an “enemy” at the time.
Apparently, you can’t spy for a country unless the government has officially decided it dislikes them enough 🤷♂️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Apparently, you can’t spy for a country unless the government has officially decided it dislikes them enough 🤷♂️
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
University inefficiency 101:
- Arrive on campus at 11 after an off-campus meeting
- No parking anywhere
- Security won’t lift the stupid cross-campus barrier
- Exit & drive around in heavy traffic to other entrance: also full
- Drive home
- Cycle back in
- Miss 2 meetings
👏 Perfect 👏 system 👏
- Arrive on campus at 11 after an off-campus meeting
- No parking anywhere
- Security won’t lift the stupid cross-campus barrier
- Exit & drive around in heavy traffic to other entrance: also full
- Drive home
- Cycle back in
- Miss 2 meetings
👏 Perfect 👏 system 👏
a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a window with his hands on his head .
ALT: a man in a suit and tie is standing in front of a window with his hands on his head .
media.tenor.com
October 15, 2025 at 7:06 PM
University inefficiency 101:
- Arrive on campus at 11 after an off-campus meeting
- No parking anywhere
- Security won’t lift the stupid cross-campus barrier
- Exit & drive around in heavy traffic to other entrance: also full
- Drive home
- Cycle back in
- Miss 2 meetings
👏 Perfect 👏 system 👏
- Arrive on campus at 11 after an off-campus meeting
- No parking anywhere
- Security won’t lift the stupid cross-campus barrier
- Exit & drive around in heavy traffic to other entrance: also full
- Drive home
- Cycle back in
- Miss 2 meetings
👏 Perfect 👏 system 👏
Nerd that I am, I’ve been thinking about (theorising is too strong!!) covert action for 15 years.
And this in the new Oxford Handbook National Security Intelligence offers a neat distillation:
And this in the new Oxford Handbook National Security Intelligence offers a neat distillation:
October 15, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Nerd that I am, I’ve been thinking about (theorising is too strong!!) covert action for 15 years.
And this in the new Oxford Handbook National Security Intelligence offers a neat distillation:
And this in the new Oxford Handbook National Security Intelligence offers a neat distillation: