Introduction: Challenges to Effectiveness in Intelligence due to the Need for Transparency and Accountability in Democracy
Abstract
All democracies, both new and long established, confront a fundamental and inescapable dilemma in combining intelligence agencies that are effective and under democratic civilian control. This is due to the tension between the requirement of intelligence agencies to work to some extent in secret and the requirement of democratic government for accountability, necessitating transparency. The fundamental challenge for policy makers and scholars is to understand the dilemma and to manage it in a consistent and productive manner. In the articles that follow, the authors look to how four very different countries deal with this dilemma through reform of their intelligence systems. As Tim Doorey highlights in his paper, in the United States, the oldest democracy examined here, with a huge intelligence community (IC), there are currently major efforts to square the circle of accountability and effectiveness. He highlights the overall configuration of these huge efforts and indicates the ongoing challenges with particular emphasis on effectiveness. In the newer democracies there are a series of added challenges. These derive from both the nondemocratic nature of the prior regime and the fact that what is termed "intelligence" or "information" was really state security focused on controlling the population, often with collateral results of horrific human rights abuses. The papers on Brazil, Colombia, and Romania focus on efforts to create new institutions. Undoubtedly, the most important longer term challenge is to professionalize the intelligence agencies through the recruitment, education and training, and mentoring of young, energetic, and qualified candidates. The paper on Romania argues that these efforts are successful. They seem less successful in the case of Brazil, and in Colombia the congress is still discussing a law to define and provide some degree of protection to intelligence professionals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2007
- Accession Number
- ADA485128
Entities
People
- Thomas C. Bruneau
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School