Author(s): Gabriela CONTU
Publication name: Romanian Intelligence Studies Review
Publisher name: Mihai Viteazul National Intelligence Academy
Publication type: Journal article
Publication date: December 31, 2021
Pagination:
Issue/ Volume: 26/2021
DOI:
Abstract:
In the contemporary period, especially in the last three decades, transparency,
openness and access to information have fallen into a new era of interest for numerous
actors playing in the societal democratic arena – citizens, organizations, the private
sector, governments, media, politicians, international partners and so on. A paradox of
transparency should be its presence in the intelligence field – born and raised on a
strong basis of secrecy and conspiracy. While questioning what intelligence
transparency is or, how we like to call it – “intelligence in plain sight”, we discovered the
inexistence of a public, academic or institutional framework defining the topic.
Therefore, this article aims at taking the first steps into this direction, by
defining a couple of constants and variables, essential parties and indicators which
should be comprised into a strategic joint venture, setting out to develop a framework
for the practice of intelligence transparency. Also, this article underlines the need for
liaison between these factors, meant to balance between the two oxymoronic adjectives –
secretive and transparent. The analysis starts with a picture of how transparency looks
like for governments – whether they are open or not, and it goes on with a legal
perspective, only to end by catching the few elements surrounding the intelligence
transparency topic. The main contribution of this article is that it overwhelmingly
underlines the gap in both academic and administrative literature for a framework for
intelligence transparency.
Keywords: transparency, secret, intelligence, legal, framework, joint-venture
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