Oversight and Intelligence Networks: Who Guards the Guardians? (GUARDINT)

What are the potentials and limitations of democratic control of intelligence agencies in their use of digital and transnational surveillance? The revelations by Edward Snowden and subsequent inquiries have highlighted a gap between increasingly transnational, technically sophisticated surveillance practices and largely national, often poorly equipped oversight mechanisms. Closing this gap is a key challenge for democratic societies in a digital, transnational world.

The main goal of the GUARDINT project was to collect, assess, understand and transfer knowledge on intelligence oversight practices in different European countries. interface (formerly Stiftung Neue Verantwortung) and the Berlin Social Science Center (WZB) contribute to GUARDINT by developing the “Intelligence Oversight Index” (IOI) in order to scrutinise the oversight practices of different stakeholders, across countries and over time.

The project’s aim was twofold. First, the index seeks to indicate the quality of oversight of surveillance by intelligence services within the respective countries, as well as from a transnational perspective. Second, the IOI renders pertinent aspects of the countries’ respective oversight practices comparable. In addition to indices such as those for freedom, democracy or corruption, an intelligence oversight index is an important device for strengthening democratic practices. We hope to establish a common point of reference for a growing range of stakeholders with an interest in intelligence oversight and initiate transnational exchange among oversight professionals.

The research team developed the methodology for the IOI and conducted a pilot study comparing France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The indicators and components of the index were selected in consultation with oversight practitioners and experts from civil society organisations and academia in order to guarantee the practical and theoretical relevance for all stakeholders. The index is accompanied by an open source legal database of surveillance law, relevant case law, and official oversight reports from the three countries. An academic advisory board as well as a stakeholder advisory board consulted the project team throughout the index development process. The methods used included expert interviews and analyses of legal frameworks, news coverage, official reports, and litigation cases.

GUARDINT consortium:

• Berlin Social Sciences Center (WZB)

• King’s College London (KCL)

• Sciences Po Paris Center for International Studies (CERI)

• Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (SNV)

• University Lyon 3

Visit the Website: GUARDINT