Recruiting friendlies: Korea's RASCALS

What motivates people to work for a foreign government?

Espionage, often depicted as a world of intrigue and danger, is actually boring and emotionally draining. It’s about waiting and human weakness.

The model scenario involves two individuals: a recruiter and a target. The recruiter must learn about the target, discover what motivates them to act, and set in motion a train of events that facilitate this. Motivations to act are often complex and multifaceted, ranging from ideological convictions to financial desperation. They’re also strongly influenced by culture. For a publication entitled Diplomatic Seoul, this raises a relevant question: Are there “Korean” cultural factors to be considered?

There are several models and frameworks commonly used to understand and facilitate the recruitment of agents. The two most common are the MICE and RASCALS models. The MICE (Money, Ideology, Coercion, and Ego) model is the most commonly used. It is a broad, universal approach to explain how individuals can be motivated to act. The RASCALS (Reciprocati…