In the past decade there have been significant changes in the operations of security and intelligence agencies throughout Europe. Those in the former Eastern Europe have undergone the most obvious changes in their targets and the legal context within which they operate, but these changes have affected all the agencies to some extent. It is these changes that will provide the context of structures and processes through which the agencies will respond to the September 11, 2001 attack on New York and Washington. This edited collection of papers by an international group of experts in the study of security and intelligence examines recent and current developments in the light of the rule of law and democracy and specifically addresses a number of common themes. Firstly, security and intelligence agencies are placed within the broader context of their parent state, including whether their powers originate in legislation or executive decree and the form of oversight. Secondly, the types of agency - civilian, military, foreign and domestic - are considered in the context of their historical development, including the transition from authoritarian to liberal state forms. Thirdly, the changes in their mandate and targets are discussed, in particular, towards 'terrorism', 'transnational organized crime' and economic intelligence. Finally, each author considers the enduring issue of how the impact of security and intelligence agencies is to be assessed in terms both of security and human rights. This book represents the first systematic attempt to present a collection of contemporary studies on the shifts in this crucial aspect of the operation of all states, and to do so within a framework of common themes. Although significant differences remain in the operation of security intelligence, all the authors highlight the common dilemmas that accompany the attempt to provide security but to do so democratically.
The biggest problem in analyzing security services in any country is a lack of real information. When documents are declassified they are generally only of interest to historians. These essays explore the touchy subject of security in Europe.
'A timely, richly informative and probing analysis of the structure and functioning of national security policing in ten democratic countries. Together with a prior volume National Security and the Rule of Law, edited by Dennis Toellborg, this book is required reading for anyone seeking to understand the empirical and normative issues in the comparative study of political policing.' Gary T. Marx, Professor Emeritus, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and author of Undercover: Police Surveillance in America '...a very welcomed, significant and necessary addition to the literature on intelligence.' International Criminal Justice Review
