ISS Roundtable: Dialogue on Intelligence Oversight in South Africa

Date: 2007-05-22 to Invalid date

ISS Roundtable: Dialogue on Intelligence Oversight in South Africa
Pretoria, 22 May 2007

By Invitation Only

Presented by the Defence Sector Programme

 

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) is hosting a roundtable meeting on intelligence oversight in South Africa in Pretoria on the 22nd of May 2007.

 

The issue of control of the intelligence services is one of the most problematic realms of civil-security relations. This is largely due to the nature of the intelligence sector, which presents a unique challenge to democracy. Whereas democracy requires accountability and transparency, the intelligence domain relies on secrecy in order to be effective. This inherent tension between intelligence and democracy is particularly challenging to new democracies. Although South Africa emerged from the apartheid period with a democratic government and embarked on massive reforms of the security sector, the apparent abuse and misuse of position and power within South African intelligence agencies in 2005 and 2006, have re-affirmed the necessity to revisit the post-apartheid structures and systems and to review their efficacy.

 

Should you have any further inquiries, please do not hesitate to contact Ms Lauren Hutton, Researcher in the Defence Sector Programme at the ISS ([email protected])