Treatment of intelligence activities and intelligence services in general encyclopedias
Starting from the standpoint that encyclopedias are reliable indicators of development and scope of scientific knowledge in all fields of human life and work, this paper considers the question how did the initial break of science into mysterious field of intelligence activities and intelligence services manifest in general encyclopedias that are available to Serbian public. By using comparative analysis on entries from this field in concise edition of 'Encyclopedia Britannica' (Belgrade 2006), 'General Larousse Encyclopedia' (Belgrade, 2004) and 'Little Encyclopedia Prosveta' (Belgrade, 1986), it was determined that initial breaks of science in this field (at the end of XX and at the start of XXI century), have found very solid, if not even satisfactory manifestation in the above-mentioned encyclopedias. In these encyclopedias, one can find almost all significant terms from this field, as well as short information on many famous intelligence services and their chiefs, intelligence officers and agents. However, the problem that occurs when lame people use these encyclopedias is the fact that the presence of entries from this field is rather uneven, both in quality and quantity.