Lessons through Reform: Australia’s Security Intelligence

Abstract

ABSTRACTInternational security studies (ISS) is a young discipline in the political science realm. The study of intelligence is even more obscure because of its intrinsic secretiveness and resulting lack of documentation. Therein lies the need for exploration of Australian intelligence reforms. Justice Robert Marsden Hope carried out three security reviews with three profound outcomes: political freedom, national intelligence independence, and security oversight. Hope transformed a backward post-war alliance requisite into an inter-collaborative complex intelligence community. While intelligence agencies vexed the left and gratified the right, Hope was able to institutionalize political neutrality and bipartisan support of the agencies. This study explains the societal, political, and historical context under which Hope worked objectively for the long-term view of Australia and its civil liberties.