Geheim gewroet in het duister? - Percepties en maatregelen ten aanzien van veiligheidsdiensten in Nederland, 1918-1989

Abstract

In this article we scrutinize the construction of complex threat perceptions and security conceptions in relation to the introduction of security measures by the security services. We find that for most of the history of the Dutch security services, political control and interference was limited to the decision to establish or shut down an institution, driven by security considerations, interests, and opportunities. In the meantime it was up to the security service itself to interpret threats, to set priorities, and to decide on working methods. But apart from detecting threats, civil servants of the security service had other interests as well, for example to convince others of the necessity of their activities and to secure their budgets. This creation of policy behind closed doors was contested from the 1960s on. But it was only twenty years later, when the threat perceptions of the security service and the minister responsible diverged irreconcilably, that the Dutch government actively intervened.