Democratic Control of Intelligence Services : Containing Rogue Elephants

Editors: Hans Born and Marina Caparini Bibliographic Details: Ashgate, Jul 2007. ISBN: 978-0-7546-4273-2 Buy Now: From the Publisher's website

Abstract

This comprehensive volume discusses the various challenges of establishing and maintaining accountable and democratically controlled intelligence services, drawing both from states with well-established democratic systems and those emerging from authoritarian systems and in transition towards democracy. It adopts a multidisciplinary and comparative approach, identifying good practices to make security services accountable to society and its democratic representatives. The volume will engage both academics and practitioners in the discussion of how to anchor these vital yet inherently difficult to control institutions within a firmly democratic framework. As such, it has clear relevance for these concerned with the control and oversight of intelligence and security issues in many countries.

Book Review

Cicero, the Roman lawyer and orator, wrote “In time of war, the laws fall silent." Editors Born and Caparini have recast this view in modern terms, asking: “whether protecting the security of the state should trump all other objectives and values in society…and preclude any constraints on it?” (4) Nine of the 15 articles in the Democratic Control of Intelligence Services examine the issue from the viewpoints of four Western countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Norway) and five from the former Soviet bloc (Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary). [2] Six articles discuss the fundamental principles of oversight—the law, accountability, freedom of information, data protection—and the need for intelligence. With regard to oversight, which is defined broadly as “management,” they stress the importance of internal controls by inspectors general, as well as those applied by the executive and congressional or parliamentary committees.

The chapters on the former Soviet bloc countries are particularly interesting. They discuss the degrees of progress made since independence, emphasizing the extent to which the principles above have been achieved in each nation and what remains to be done on domestic security and foreign intelligence reforms. The chapters on the Western countries review the procedures and institutions in place to assure democratic control of intelligence and the problems that led to their creation. With the exception of France, each country formed parliamentary oversight committees after questionable conduct by one of its intelligence agencies. In France, while the need for such oversight is recognized, the National Assembly has not endorsed the formation of an oversight commission.

The final chapter reviews the common problems of implementing effective democratic and parliamentary oversight of intelligence, the need for international cooperation, and the lessons learned from the accounts presented. It concludes with proposals for strengthening oversight while maintaining a balance between secrecy and transparency.

While the Democratic Control of Intelligence Services looks closely at what has been and what needs to be done, it does not address the practical problem of the qualifications of those doing the oversight. Nevertheless, it is a valuable book that demonstrates the difficulty of acquiring needed intelligence while protecting basic human rights.

Source: Studies in Intelligence, vol. 52, nr. 1 (March 2008)

Chapters

Controlling and Overseeing Intelligence Services in Democratic States [213 KBytes]
Marina Caparini

Description

List of Tables and Figure

List of Contributors

Preface by Ambassador Theodor H. Winkler

Acknowledgements

List of Acronyms

I Introduction

-- 1 Controlling and Overseeing Intelligence Services in Democratic States
Marina Caparini

-- 2 The Need for Efficient and Legitimate Intelligence
Fred Schreier

II Reforms in Eastern Europe

-- 3 Control and Oversight of Security Intelligence in Romania
Larry L. Watts

-- 4 Transformation of the Polish Secret Services: From Authoritarian to Informal Power Networks
Andrzej Zybertowicz

-- 5 Reforming the Intelligence Services in Bulgaria: The Experience of 1989–2005
Nikolai Bozhilov

-- 6 The Aftermath of 1989 and the Reform of Intelligence: The Czechoslovakian Case
Oldřich Černý

III Reforms in the West

-- 7 The United States Department of Defense Intelligence Oversight Programme: Balancing National Security and Constitutional Rights
George B. Lotz

-- 8 Checks and Imbalances? Intelligence Governance in Contemporary France
Hans Born and Thorsten Wetzling

-- 9 Parliamentary Oversight of the Norwegian Secret and Intelligence Services
Ambassador Leif Mevik and Hakon Huus-Hansen

IV Parliamentarians

-- 10 Parliamentary and External Oversight of Intelligence Services
Hans Born

-- 11 The UK’s Intelligence and Security Committee
Ian Leigh

-- 12 Democratic and Parliamentary Accountability of Intelligence Services After 9/11
Peter Gill

V Data Protection

-- 13 Public Oversight and National Security: Comparative Approaches to Freedom of Information
David Banisar

-- 14 Reconciliation and Developing Public Trust in Hungary: Opening State Security Files
László Majtényi

VI Conclusion

-- 15 Intelligence Services:Strengthening Democratic Accountability
Hans Born and Fairlie Jensen

Bibliography

Index