The defector is a common character in any tale of spy-craft. Whether a defector is a conscientious objector or a traitor, however, is a matter of perspective.
Among the definitions of a defector, there are several common factors. Essentially, a defector is an individual who sells or gives away proprietary information to an adversary – a foreign country or a corporate competitor. Unfortunately, that definition is where the simplicity of defection ends.
All defectors have personal reasons for their betrayal. These reasons complicate our ability to understand defectors to the point where constructing an accurate psychological profile is almost impossible.
To be sure, intelligence services recruit certain individuals to fulfill their needs. But more often than not, a defector chooses to turn traitor for personal reasons. CIA officer Aldrich Ames, for example, became a spy for the Soviet Union because he was under extreme financial pressure. He was eventually caught and is serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison without the possibility of parole.
Why Do Some People Become Defectors?
In his article “The Psychology of Treason,” former CIA psychiatrist Wilhelm Marbes makes the profound statement that “nobody ever defected because he was happy.” We often think that people engage in betrayal for ideological reasons. While betrayal for ideological reasons may be true up to a point, it does little to explain the behavior that precedes defection.