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Secrets and Spies
UK Intelligence Accountability after Iraq and Snowden
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2020
Summary
Exploring how intelligence professionals view accountability in the context of twenty-first century politics
How can democratic governments hold intelligence and security agencies accountable when what they do is largely secret? Using the UK as a case study, this book addresses this question by providing the first systematic exploration of how accountability is understood inside the secret world. It is based on new interviews with current and former UK intelligence practitioners, as well as extensive research into the performance and scrutiny of the UK intelligence machinery. The result is the first detailed analysis of how intelligence professionals view their role, what they feel keeps them honest, and how far external overseers impact on their work
Moving beyond the conventional focus on oversight, the book examines how accountability works in the day to day lives of these organizations, and considers the impact of technological and social changes, such as artificial intelligence and social media.
The UK is a useful case study as it is an important actor in global intelligence, gathering material that helps inform global decisions on such issues as nuclear proliferation, terrorism, transnational crime, and breaches of international humanitarian law. On the flip side, the UK was a major contributor to the intelligence failures leading to the Iraq war in 2003, and its agencies were complicit in the widely discredited U.S. practices of torture and rendition of terrorism suspects. UK agencies have come under greater scrutiny since those actions, but it is clear that problems remain. The book concludes with a series of suggestions for improvement, including the creation of intelligence ethics committees, allowing the public more input into intelligence decisions.
The issues explored in this book have important implications for researchers, intelligence professionals, overseers, and the public when it comes to understanding and scrutinizing intelligence practice.
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Bibliographic data
Copyright year
2020
ISBN-Print
978-0-8157-3797-1
ISBN-Online
978-0-8157-3798-8
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield, Lanham
Language
English
Pages
backcover1
Product type
Book Titles
Table of contents
ChapterPages
Table of Contents No access
Acknowledgments No access
Introduction No access Pages 1 - 18
Accountability and Intelligence No access Pages 19 - 50
Scrutinizing the U.K. Intelligence Machinery No access Pages 51 - 78
Practitioner Views of Accountability No access Pages 79 - 98
National Intelligence Accountability No access Pages 99 - 122
Liaision and International Intelligence Accountability No access Pages 123 - 136
