Dafydd Townley

I joined the University of Portsmouth's Military Education Team in August 2021. Prior to this, I held a number of contracts at the University of Reading and St Mary's University Twickenham where I was employed as an American specialist in their history departments. Under the supervision of Dr Mara Oliva, I was awarded my PhD in history by the University of Reading in May 2015. My thesis, entitled Spies, Civil Liberties and the Senate, explored the influence of public opinion on 1975 Senate investigation of the US intelligence community. My thesis was the basis of my debut monograph, The Year of Intelligence in the United States, published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2021. In addition to my PhD, I also hold an MA in United States Studies: History and Politics from University College London and a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in History from London Metropolitan University. I am also an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy.

My research focuses on influences on US national security policy. The subject of my monograph is the influence of public opinion on the investigations into the US intelligence community in 1975. My current research explores the development of US cybersecurity policy from the 1980s to the present day. It examines congressional responsibility for oversight of federal cybersecurity, the development of the cyber industrial complex, the role that the Idaho National Laboratory plays in federal cybersecurity policy, and the use of cybersecurity as a tool for diplomacy. Other research interests include the US presidency, US intelligence community, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and information operations.