Marco Pakas

Research Topic

Intelligence history of the Venetian Republic in the early modern period.

Supervisor: Filippo de Vivo

My main area of interest is the history of intelligence in the early modern period, especially in regard to the Venetian Republic, both in terms of foreign espionage and domestic surveillance. I am also particularly interested in how intelligence-related myths and legends, as well as targeted top-down state security policy measures, contributed to the creation of cultures of vigilance and secrecy in Venice and beyond. My research focuses on the social and cultural aspects surrounding intelligence practices in the early modern Venetian Empire and explores whether the collection and dissemination of secret information and the organisation of covert activity differed across different areas and populations within the Venetian territories. Via my comparative research, I aim to contribute to the wider conversation of Venice as an Empire, by understanding how different populations under Venetian rule experienced surveillance and espionage, and whether this shows signs of colonial dynamics.

My research is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) through the Open-Oxford-Cambridge (OOC) Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), matched by the St Hugh's Hangas Scholarship and the Clarendon Fund.

I hold an MA in History and Politics from the University of Edinburgh (2017-2021), with a dissertation on the Sack of Brescia in 1512, supervised by Professor Stephen Bowd, which was awarded the Annabella Kirkpatrick Prize 2021. I also completed an MA in Intelligence and International Security from King's College London in 2022, which informed my interdisciplinary understanding of the study of intelligence. My dissertation for this degree was supervised by Dr Huw Dylan and focused on the ethical dimensions and considerations of operations of the 16th century Venetian secret services (explored mostly through archival analysis of the deliberations of the Council of Ten).