Intelligence and social knowledge – A philosophical inquiring on the social epistemological nature of intelligence as a state institution (original) (raw)
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Intelligence agencies deals everyday with a massive amount of information collected by different gathering methods and they have to process them in order to produce assessments, reports and briefs for politicians and decision-makers. This is a real challenge, given the limited time, the huge quantity of data they have to go through and the imprecise and incomplete nature of these data. This intellectual challenge is the task of intelligence analysis, that stage of the process that has to “make sense” out of all this information received at the agencies’ headquarters.
Epistemology of Intelligence Analysis
In intelligence, epistemology is the study of the threat awareness and the way the threat is understood in the field of intelligence analysis. Most definitions of intelligence do not consider the fact that the epistemic normative status of the intelligence analysis is knowledge rather than a lower alternative. Counter-arguments to the epistemological status of intelligence are their purpose-oriented action, and their future-oriented content. Following the attacks of September 11, a terrorism commission was set up to identify the failures and weaknesses of US intelligence agencies, to learn from security vulnerabilities and to avoid future attacks on national safety and security. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.30264.70400
All azimuth Vol.3, No.2, 2014
The reform or ‘democratization’ of intelligence has been studied in many countries essentially as a process of transition from authoritarian or ‘counterintelligence’ states to liberal democratic regimes in which security and intelligence agencies are subject to (more or less) democratic control and oversight.1 These studies have contributed to the growth in comparative studies of intelligence but have often ignored some key issues, including the conditions for the very existence of ‘state’ intelligence, the continuing significance of parallel non-state intelligence entities and the involvement of an increasing number of corporate actors in intelligence activities. This article examines intelligence as it works within and between different ‘sectors’ and the implications for democratization
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This edited volume brings together a range of essays by individuals who are centrally involved in the debate about the role and utility of theory in intelligence studies. The volume includes both classic essays and new articles that critically analyse some key issues: strategic intelligence, the place of international relations theory, theories of 'surprise' and failure, organisational issues, and contributions from studies of policing and democratisation. It concludes with a chapter that summarises theoretical developments, and maps out an agenda for future research. Chapters: 1: An Historical Theory of Intelligence David Kahn 2: Intelligence as Risk Shifting Michael Warner 3: Sketches for a Theory of Strategic Intelligence Loch K. Johnson 4: Intelligence Theory and Theories of International Relations: Shared world or separate worlds? Mark Phythian 5: Theory of Surprise James Wirtz 6: Analysis, War, and Decision: Why intelligence failures are inevitable Richard Betts 7: Intelligence in a Turbulent World: Insights from organization theory Glenn Hastedt and B. Douglas Skelley 8: Intelligence Analysis and Decision-Making: Methodological challenges Stephen Marrin 9: Defending Adaptive Realism: Intelligence theory comes of age Jennifer Sims 10: Policing, Intelligence Theory and the New Human Security Paradigm: Some lessons from the field James Sheptycki 11: Theory and Intelligence Reconsidered Philip H. J. Davies 12: Theories of Intelligence: Where are we, where should we go and how might we proceed? Peter Gill
Intelligence and the Machinery of Government
Public Policy and Administration, 2010
This article argues that the failure to address intelligence agencies as public organizations part and parcel with the overt machinery of government constitutes a significant lacuna both in the specialist study of intelligence and the broader discipline of public administration studies. The role and status of intelligence institutions as aspects of the machinery of central government is examined, along with the prospects of certain key paradigms in the field for understanding those institutions are considered. Finally, the implications for the wider study of decision-making, policy and public management will be examined.