National Defense Intelligence College Paper: Democratization of Intelligence - Melding Strategic Intelligence and National Discourse - South America, Canada, U.S. Intelligence, Canadian Attitudes

This unique and informative paper was produced by the National Intelligence University / National Defense Intelligence College. The book aims to educate officials as well as students about the vicissitudes that accompany the development and execution of the government intelligence function. The authors demonstrate that national, strategic intelligence in any country of the Hemisphere can experience episodes of devolution as well as positive evolution, at the same time that the culturally modulated practices of government professionals can oscillate between periods of repression and democratic observance.

FOREWORD * Marco Cepik * FRAMEWORK FOR A NORMATIVE THEORY OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE * Russell G. Swenson and Susana C. Lemozy * INVITED COMMENTARY * Jorge Serrano Torres * SELECTED ESSAYS * Reflections on the U.S. Intelligence Culture: Career Engagements of a Civil and Military Intelligence Officer * Jon Wiant * Canadian Intelligence Culture: An Evaluation * Stephane Lefebvre * National Intelligence: Made in the U.S.A. * Bowman H. Miller * EDITORS' ACKNOWLEDGMENTS * FOOTNOTES

Topics and subjects include: Intelligence in South America, Cuba, Peru, Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guatemala, Mexico, Canada, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Narcotrafficking, Spain, U.S. intelligence, Canadian attitudes

As the various authors discuss why and how national cultures influence threat perceptions, security and defense policies, and the design of intelligence institutions in their respective countries, readers are treated to more than a description of the intelligence landscape. The editors seize on that auspicious circumstance to formulate a theory about the democratization of the national intelligence function. The theory proposes that the strategic intelligence culture in each country contributes in its own way to the process of democratization, which, in turn, influences the nature of intelligence activities in those countries. This hypothesis is explicit and verifiable. Although it requires additional testing in other national contexts (especially in Africa and Asia), the diverse essays presented here successfully demonstrate the applicability of the concept to Latin America, the United States and Canada, and to Spain. Research on culture, informal institutions, norms and values associated with intelligence is advanced by this important work, which further develops a line of inquiry that has deep roots in intelligence studies. Given that intelligence culture depends, for its behavioral expression, on operationalization or codification through individual initiative and collective action, the work presented in this book complements, and does not contradict, institutionally oriented studies that focus on the intelligence function, whether in the military arena or in criminal or police arenas.