And when spies are actually well worth the trouble, that is usually due to extraordinary circumstances - an existential threat to the nation employing them, a George Washington (99th-percentile competent and honest leader) in charge of the spy agency, or something else that can't be sustained nor reproduced.
But the temptation to spy, fears about spies, etc. - those mash so many human emotional buttons that I wouldn't expect any nation to actually pursue a rational policy in this area.
Usually "yes". Often "hell, yes".
And when spies are actually well worth the trouble, that is usually due to extraordinary circumstances - an existential threat to the nation employing them, a George Washington (99th-percentile competent and honest leader) in charge of the spy agency, or something else that can't be sustained nor reproduced.
But the temptation to spy, fears about spies, etc. - those mash so many human emotional buttons that I wouldn't expect any nation to actually pursue a rational policy in this area.