Though the British intelligence literature is voluminous, it has, until recently, been dominated ... more Though the British intelligence literature is voluminous, it has, until recently, been dominated by historical treatments, concerned with scandals and 'moles,' and, with the exception of two rather slim volumes, 1 been devoid of serious studies of the Intelligence Community as an arm of government. Fortunately, the recent work of political scientist, Peter Gill, 2 and now Laurence Lustgarten and Ian Leigh's In from the Cold: National Security and Parliamentary Democracy have gone a long way to fill the gap. In the latter work, the authors, both academic public lawyers, pose questions about policy-making, the discretion individual political actors possess, the effectiveness of existing controls, the negative impact on citizens that intelligence agencies cause, and the available forms of redress against inappropriate intrusions on rights and liberties. In from the Cold is divided into five main parts. The first sets out the book's conceptual foundations. Here the authors attack the metaphor of balance. They argue that there is no polarity between human rights and national security. In strong democracies like Britain, political and civil rights are at the core of national security itself. This leads Lustgarten and Leigh to adopt an uncompromising strategy of limitation in their subsequent critique of existing internal national security arrangements. Instead of the familiar allencompassing definition, they reduce national security to its absolute minimum -what they call a democratic conception of national security. This encompasses responses to political violence and covert attempts to influence the political process, as well as measures to protect both specific categories of defence information and the state's territory against invasion or insurrection. The use of extraordinary measures in the name of national security for any other purpose is, therefore, deemed highly suspect. This means the authors draw a clear distinction between national interests -the pursuit of economic objectives, for example -and national security, the latter being reserved for matters that go to the heart of the state and which provide roughly equivalent benefit to all citizens.
attempt to extend this analysis to the concrete problems of the Canadian Constitution falls to th... more attempt to extend this analysis to the concrete problems of the Canadian Constitution falls to the same problems as Tully's project remains to be seen. The wide range of the papers makes the job of pulling the volume together particularly difficult. Philip Bryden does an admirable job of identifying some of the papers' common themes and blends some insights from the work of British Columbia's Civil Liberties Association into his introductory essay. He is surprised that not all the authors saw fit to celebrate the Charter's tenth anniversary. Simpson's contribution aside, though, the various authors seem to agree that by expanding our bloated welfare state, advancing the feminist cause, giving criminal lawyers more ways to argue their cases and further eroding the status of the traditional family, the Charter has made Canadian life better. There is a political constituency in Canada that opposes these developments. A government could well come to office in Canada with its support and give us a Canadian Edwin Meese. In that case, the conferences marking the Charter's quarter-century anniversary would be interesting indeed.
From “49th Parallel” to “Security Perimeter”: Changing Conceptions, Values and Structures Along the U.S.-Canada Border
This chapter pursues three arguments. At the central core is one suggesting that the response of ... more This chapter pursues three arguments. At the central core is one suggesting that the response of the U.S. government to the attacks of September 11, 2001, has strongly influenced how Canadians and Americans view their common borders. It has moved from being an essentially linear concept to one that is now multidimensional and multifaceted. Secondly, the response has also had unintended consequences. For Canadians, it has meant a closer examination of their values. For the most part these have been found to be diverging. Thirdly, the Canadian government has responded in significant but different ways to the threat perceived by the U.S. Government. It is not possible to discuss all of the ways in which our collective notions of the border have changed and why in this chapter. Instead, this chapter focuses on five main themes: the general nature of borders and their origin; the way in which Canadian-U.S. border arrangements changed during the decade following the end of the Cold War an...
Introduction: shifting paradigms and shifting gears - a perspective on why there is no post-Cold ... more Introduction: shifting paradigms and shifting gears - a perspective on why there is no post-Cold War intelligence agenda, Alan E. Goodman. National assessment systems: assessment machinery - British and American models, Michael Herman the US Government's experience with intelligence analyses - pluses and minuses, Harold P. Ford the German analysis and assessment system, Harald Nielsen national intelligence assessment - Australia's experience, A.D. McLennan. The producer/user interface: American presidents and their intelligence communities, Christopher Andrew organizational politics and the development of Britain's intelligence producer/consumer interface, Philip H.J. Davies intelligence analyst/manager relations at the CIA, John A. Gentry. New analytical priorities: proliferation and arms control, Paula L. Scalingi analysis and assessment for peacekeeping operations, Sir David Ramsbotham security intelligence, the national interest and the global environment, Simon Dalby. The open source revolution: intelligence analysis in the age of electronic dissemination, Peter Sharfman private enterprise intelligence - its potential contribution to national security, Robert David Steele.
This paper is primarily concerned with changes to the border dividing Canada from the U.S. after ... more This paper is primarily concerned with changes to the border dividing Canada from the U.S. after 9/11. Two arguments are made: that these changes were sufficiently profound to warrant a re‐conceptualization of what constitutes a border and how it operates; and that for Canadians, border relations with the U.S. have become a highly complex, multifaceted business managed both horizontally and
Parliament and its servants: Their role in scrutinizing Canadian intelligence
Intelligence and National Security, 2000
Page 1. 11 Parliament and its Servants: Their Role in Scrutinizing Canadian Intelligence STUART F... more Page 1. 11 Parliament and its Servants: Their Role in Scrutinizing Canadian Intelligence STUART FARSON When the Director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), testified before the House of Commons Standing ...
Accounting for the Future or the Past?: Developing Accountability and Oversight Systems to Meet Future Intelligence Needs
The Oxford Handbook of National Security Intelligence, 2010
This article discusses the development of accountability and intelligence culture. It begins with... more This article discusses the development of accountability and intelligence culture. It begins with the contentious issues that have prevailed in the field of intelligence. It defines the use of certain terms such as accountability and responsibility within the context of intelligence. The article also looks at how systems of oversight and accountability have developed in Canada's longest and most enduring intelligence partners. The focus here is on the causes, legislative practices, and shortcomings. Following the discussion on the systems of oversight and accountability in Canadian intelligence, the article proceeds with a discussion on how Canada has developed its own systems. The emphasis here is on the external procedures and independent institutions. The purpose in this section is twofold: first, is to illustrate that even close allies have followed different paths and, second, is to show that Canada, while initially getting off to a sound start, has failed to keep pace not ...
Increasing Canada's Foreign Intelligence Capability: Is it a Dead Issue?
Intelligence and National Security, 2014
Despite the fact that the issue of whether Canada should develop a greater foreign intelligence c... more Despite the fact that the issue of whether Canada should develop a greater foreign intelligence capability has been broached numerous times, in various guises, over more than a century, those who have followed the development of the country's intelligence architecture will know it has never had a foreign intelligence service like its close allies. They will also be aware that on each occasion on which the issue has been raised, the Canadian government has declined to proceed. If history is any guide, there is a strong likelihood that the idea of Canada developing a more robust capability will again engage politicians, former intelligence officials, academics, the media, and think tanks in the not too distant future. The view adopted in this paper is that the public discourse has become sterile, and that if it is to advance, aspects of the counterfactual case – why has a foreign Humint capability not been developed? – may prove more fruitful.
Page 1. 2 IS CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE BEING RE-INVENTED? STUART FARSON * The unanticipated demise of... more Page 1. 2 IS CANADIAN INTELLIGENCE BEING RE-INVENTED? STUART FARSON * The unanticipated demise of the Soviet Union forced states that had focussed their attention on containing communism for almost a half century ...
Accountable and prepared? Reorganizing Canada's intelligence community for the 21st century
Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, 1993
... Stuart Farson was the Director of Research for the Special Committee of the House of Commons ... more ... Stuart Farson was the Director of Research for the Special Committee of the House of Commons that reviewed the CSIS Act in ... The author thanks Jean-Paul Brodeur, Jim Maddin, Mary Paddon,Philip Rosen, Robert Henderson, the editor and the anonymous reviewers of ...
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