A groundbreaking comparative analysis of three understudied cases of intelligence democratization revealing new insights into main barriers to reform when states transition from authoritarianism Reforming the intelligence services is essential when a state transitions from authoritarianism to democracy. But which areas should be reformed, how do we know when there has been real transformation, and how and where do authoritarian legacies persist? Intelligence in Democratic Transitions is a comparative examination of the democratic transitions of Portugal, Greece, and Spain starting in the 1970s. Although these three countries began their transitions around the same time, they present significantly different results. Sofia Tzamarelou discovers that main barriers to reform are legacies of the past and legacy personnel. She does this through the lens of five Security Sector Reform (SSR) indicators: Lustration, Control and Oversight, Recruitment, Targeting and Civil Society. Tzamarelou uses primary sources throughout the study, including governmental documents and legal statutes–such as draft laws, bills and presidential decrees–paired with “outside” primary source reporting, such as analysis reporting by the CIA. She complements this rich primary source material with secondary sources from authors in each country and internationally who specialize in intelligence or who provide historical context. Tzamarelou’s unique comparative analysis of intelligence democratization using a common framework–SSR–applied to each country contributes to readers’ understanding of why and how some reforms fail and others succeed and how the SSR framework can be used in the intelligence arena.

This comparative analysis of the sometimes fraught process of achieving democratic governance of security intelligence agencies presents material from countries other than those normally featured in the Intelligence Studies literature of North America and Europe. Some of the countries examined are former Communist countries and several in Latin America are former military regimes. Others have been democratic for a long time but still experience widespread political violence. Through a mix of single-country and comparative studies, major aspects of intelligence are considered, including the legacy of, and transition from, authoritarianism; the difficulties of achieving genuine reform; and the apparent inevitability of periodic scandals. Authors consider a range of methodological approaches to the study of intelligence and the challenges of analysing the secret world. Finally, consideration is given to the success – or otherwise – of intelligence reform, and the effectiveness of democratic institutions of control and oversight. This book was originally published as a special issue of Intelligence and National Security.

"Reforming the intelligence agencies is essential when a state transitions from authoritarianism to democracy. But what kinds of reforms matter, how do we know when there has been transformation, and how and where do authoritarian legacies persist? Sofia Tzamarelou conducts a comparative examination of three cases, the democratic transitions of Portugal, Greece, and Spain during the 1970s. She draws important conclusions about how to ensure thorough reform and what happens when intelligence democratization is incomplete. She does this through the lens of five Security Sector Reform (SSR) indicators: Lustration, Control & Oversight, Collection, Recruitment, and Civil Society. Although these three European countries started their transition around the same time, they present significantly different results. Legacies of the past and legacy personnel emerge as the main barriers to reform. Other important findings are the relationship between consumers and producers of intelligence and the role of civil society. The study is unique due to the source material used, the countries studied, and its comparative framework for the study of intelligence democratization"--

Thirteen former presidents and prime ministers discuss how they helped their countries end authoritarian rule and achieve democracy. National leaders who played key roles in transitions to democratic governance reveal how these were accomplished in Brazil, Chile, Ghana, Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, Poland, South Africa, and Spain. Commissioned by the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), these interviews shed fascinating light on how repressive regimes were ended and democracy took hold. In probing conversations with Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Patricio Aylwin, Ricardo Lagos, John Kufuor, Jerry Rawlings, B. J. Habibie, Ernesto Zedillo, Fidel V. Ramos, Aleksander Kwasniewski, Tadeusz Mazowiecki, F. W. de Klerk, Thabo Mbeki, and Felipe González, editors Sergio Bitar and Abraham F. Lowenthal focused on each leader’s principal challenges and goals as well as their strategies to end authoritarian rule and construct democratic governance. Context-setting introductions by country experts highlight each nation’s unique experience as well as recurrent challenges all transitions faced. A chapter by Georgina Waylen analyzes the role of women leaders, often underestimated. A foreword by Tunisia’s former president, Mohamed Moncef Marzouki, underlines the book’s relevance in North Africa, West Asia, and beyond. The editors’ conclusion distills lessons about how democratic transitions have been and can be carried out in a changing world, emphasizing the importance of political leadership. This unique book should be valuable for political leaders, civil society activists, journalists, scholars, and all who want to support democratic transitions.

The purpose of this thesis is to design a new role for security intelligence in new democracies that achieves a proper balance between the security of the state, the intelligence activities, and the individual liberties of its citizens. In this sense, a democratic intelligence system should have a clear legal mandate for its functions and should be controlled and overseen by civilians under democratic principles, such as respect for the rule of law and human rights, accountability and transparency. This thesis compares the intelligence systems of Argentina, Romania, and El Salvador under their different regimes, authoritarian as well as democratic. It also compares the strategies used by Argentina and Romania for their transitions from authoritarian intelligence systems to democratic intelligence systems. After comparing both the strategies used by these nations, one sees that designing a new model, a collaborative strategy, which includes all stakeholders, is the most appropriate approach, leaving the democratically elected authorities to employ an authoritative strategy when they deem it necessary.

The response of an autocratic nation's armed forces is crucial to the outcome of democratization movements throughout the world. But how can military officers and defense officials in democratic nations persuade their counterparts in autocratic regimes to favor democratic transitions? Here, Admiral Dennis Blair confronts this hard-edged challenge with a primer on the factors that affect military behavior during democratic transitions. Military Engagement makes the strong case for why the armed forces of any country should favor democracy and why, contrary to conventional wisdom, many military leaders have supported democratic transitions in different regions of the world. Further, it explains why military support, active or tacit, is essential to the success of any demo cratic transition. Blair provides incisive commentary on civil-military relations and outlines the foundational elements of armed forces in a democratic country. He presents sound advice to defense officials and military leaders in established democracies that can be put into practice when interacting with colleagues in both autocratic regimes and those that have made the break with dictatorship. This succinct handbook analyzes democratic transitions in five major regions and surveys the internal power dynamics in countries such as Iran and North Korea, dictatorships that are hostile toward and fearful of democratic influences. Blair juxtaposes the roles, values, and objectives of military leaders in autocratic nations with those in democracies. In turn, Military Engagement highlights how crossnetworking with international military delegations can put external pressure on autocratic countries and persuade them that democracies are best not only for the country itself, but also for the armed forces. Volume one of this two-volume project provides the educational foundation necessary so that military officers from established democracies can raise their game in achiev

How differing forms of repression shape the outcomes of democratic transitions In the wake of the Arab Spring, newly empowered factions in Tunisia and Egypt vowed to work together to establish democracy. In Tunisia, political elites passed a new constitution, held parliamentary elections, and demonstrated the strength of their democracy with a peaceful transfer of power. Yet in Egypt, unity crumbled due to polarization among elites. Presenting a new theory of polarization under authoritarianism, After Repression reveals how polarization and the legacies of repression led to these substantially divergent political outcomes. Drawing on original interviews and a wealth of new historical data, Elizabeth Nugent documents polarization among the opposition in Tunisia and Egypt prior to the Arab Spring, tracing how different kinds of repression influenced the bonds between opposition groups. She demonstrates how widespread repression created shared political identities and decreased polarization—such as in Tunisia—while targeted repression like that carried out against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt led opposition groups to build distinct identities that increased polarization among them. This helps explain why elites in Tunisia were able to compromise, cooperate, and continue on the path to democratic consolidation while deeply polarized elites in Egypt contributed to the rapid reentrenchment of authoritarianism. Providing vital new insights into the ways repression shapes polarization, After Repression helps to explain what happened in the turbulent days following the Arab Spring and illuminates the obstacles to democratic transitions around the world.