Regulating the Intelligence System and Oversight in the Hungarian Constitutional Democracy
Abstract
As Hungary made its transition to democracy, it had to overhaul its political, economic and defense system. The shift to a democratic form of government and free enterprise economy depends on a military that is firmly under civilian authority. Within the defense sector, the endurance of such a new democracy requires reforming its intelligence system. Hungary must choose the intelligence system that best serves its goals and needs. Despite the relatively strong success in implementing a democratic system, market economy and civilian control of the military since 1989, the transformation of its intelligence agencies is incomplete. The intelligence organizations holds fast to the old concept of an oversized, hyper bureaucratic intelligence system, and still lack appropriate, Western-type civil control and oversight. The system itself has been changing but not at the adequate speed and to some extent, it has kept the baggage of its past. Recent international terrorism also presents an opportunity to examine the Hungarian intelligence system and how it is structured, evaluating it for deficiencies and further develop what is working in the Hungarian security services. This analysis describes various other national intelligence organizations and examines intelligence oversight in the Hungarian constitutional democracy with recommendations for the possible guidelines for a new Hungarian intelligence system.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2003
- Accession Number
- ADA417411
Entities
People
- Tibor Babos
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School