Warsaw - Intelligence reforms and transformations of the State in France

With Olivier Chopin (Sciences Po Paris – Espol Lille),

Traditionally, intelligence was defined as a ‘regalian power’ rather than a functional tool in the hands of the decision-maker in France. Intelligence activities were derived from a very specific conception of the State, and especially the particular notion of ‘reason of State’ (raison d’État). The current intelligence reforms prompts speculation as to whether it represents more than a ‘simple’ functional reorganisation or in fact could signify that intelligence is now recognised as a tool in the hands of a ‘État de droit’ (‘liberal state’). The presentation will address the assumption of a ‘lost exceptionalism’ through an analysis of the current reform of the intelligence sector in France, which is based on four processes of rationalisation, centralization, modernisation and normalisation of both intelligence activities and intelligence services. The lecture will also addresses the reactions to the 2015 and 2016 terrorist attacks in France, and asks whether resilience towards terrorism requires to accelerate the pace of the transformation of the French intelligence sector.

Warsaw – Intelligence reforms and transformations of the State in France