Matthew Hefler and John Sipher

Matthew Hefler is a specialist of international history and intelligence studies. His research focuses on the role of intelligence, subversion and the activities of secret services within international diplomacy. Currently he is an Ax:son Johnson Postdoctoral Fellow in the Center for Statecraft and Strategic Communication at the Stockholm school of Economics, and a member of the Ax:son Johnson Institute for Statecraft and Diplomacy. John Sipher is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center and the co-founder of Spycraft Entertainment, a production firm providing content and talent to the entertainment industry. Sipher is a foreign policy, intelligence and national security expert. In 2014 he retired from a 28-year career at the Central Intelligence Agency’s National Clandestine Service. At the time of his retirement, he was a member of the CIA’s Senior Intelligence Service, the leadership team that guides CIA activities globally. His articles have been published in the New York Times, the Atlantic, the Washington Post, Politico, Foreign Affairs, Newsweek, Slate, Lawfare, and Just Security, among others.