The Use of Medicine in Espionage, an Old Profession: The Example of Missionary Activities in the Ottoman Empire

This study examines the dual role of American medical missionaries in the Ottoman Empire during its final century, positioning them as agents of both humanitarian aid and geopolitical strategy. Focusing on the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions (ABCFM), it contends that their medical activities, while addressing genuine public health needs, simultaneously created an infrastructure for intelligence gathering and political influence. By exploiting a significant public health vacuum, medical missionaries gained unparalleled access to and trust within local communities, which was then leveraged for religious and, increasingly, political ends. This unparalleled access was instrumental in catalyzing nationalist sentiments among Ottoman minorities, particularly Armenians, which contributed to a cycle of insurrection and state suppression. In response, the Ottoman state developed an evolving counter-intelligence framework of surveillance, legal constraints, and the promotion of its own health services. The case serves as a critical historical precedent for understanding the complex intersection of humanitarianism, intelligence, and statecraft in contested geopolitical arenas. In terms of offering a variety of advantages, the Board Missionary presence in Anatolia during the ۱۹th and ۲۰th centuries was crucial for the United States of America. In this instance, it appears that the objectives of these healthcare facilities’ operations have little to do with what is meant by a medical missionary. By analyzing the missionary as both healer and intelligence asset, this article offers a critical historical precedent for the entanglement of aid, espionage, and statecraft, providing new insights into the non-state actors who shaped the fate of a contested empire.

کلیدواژه ها:

United States ، Missionaries ، Ottoman Empire ، Intelligence ، Armenians ، Delivery of health care