Securing The State

by David Omand

Governments recognize the public depends on the certainty, however illusory, that they are safe from terrorism, war, or nuclear attack. They need to believe that the government can protect them from pandemics and climate change. Yet when political institutions fail to balance justice, liberty, privacy, and civic harmony in the pursuit of security, they jeopardize the very trust and confidence they hope to inspire. Drawing on decades of experience as a security analyst and political insider, David Omand argues that while public security is necessary for good government, the erosion of civil liberties, however slight, tips the balance in favor of bad government and, ultimately, creates an insecure state. Omand details the fine line between delivering security and violating public safety, establishing a set of principles for the intelligence community that respects the requirements of basic human liberties. He proposes a new approach to generating secret intelligence and examines the issues that arise from using technology to access new sources of information. He dives into the debate over the purpose of intelligence and its ability to strengthen or weaken a government, especially in our new, jittery era. Incorporating numerous examples of security successes and failures, Omand speaks to realists, idealists, scholars, and practitioners, resetting the balance for a crucial issue of public policy.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another one for the dissertation.

Omand is perhaps the most (unintentionally) amusing writers on state security. Never have I ever encountered an author who likened intelligence services to Tolkien's rangers, keeping the hobbits safe in their hobbit-holes. Bless.

[James Wilkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Securing the State is an exhaustive - and potentially exhausting - font of information about modern intelligence gathering as it settles into an unsettling age of terrorism, both domestic and foreign. It's also, I think, one for the initiated.

If, like me, you're just some schlub wondering how British intelligence really works, you will find everything you need to know about its structures, workflow and practices here. You'll also find tons more - far more, in fact, than you probably need or want.

Omand's writing is clear, concise and unpretentious, and meticulous in its laying out of even the most rudimentary of information, which is a boon to the layman like me. It's also dry as salted dust, which - coupled with the sheer density of data contained within the cover - can make it tough going.

A good book, but best saved for those who are already genned up on the subject.

[Robert Ellis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am torn with this book because it is a quality product with a strong frame for the subject matter, security intelligence in this case, but as I was reading it, I noticed that it jumped out as an old software version from a political paradigm situation - 2010 publish date, neo-liberal presumptions, terrorism era overemphasis, and tinges of globalist absolutism that include the requirement to see through a human rights lens. It was a challenging book, but there was a lot to learn in it. I actually appreciated my capacity to disagree with key points, especially as I approach this problem from the 'grand' perspective, so my bias is how to tailor the very real need for reform (then as much as now) without getting stuck in the archaic programming of the 20th century that smacks more of our own ancien regime comparative, especially with the larger geopolitical shifts that continue occurring after the pandemic period. I think that also lends this book its charm: an insider's snapshot to the GWOT period, where their thinking was, which lends us a better understanding how we ended up in this period (2020's). I recommend the book, but I find the UK emphasis (our author's forte and experience) hard to swallow, even as a Canadian myself, however it does stand up as worth reading on the subject still.

[Yana Shevkirova · Rating 4 out of 5]

To an extent, I do agree with the previous review. It's slightly over-optimistic, even naive, in a very subtle way. It is hard to pinpoint what the issue with this book is, but something's definitely not right. It just seems that he is raising more questions than he answers and he's taking the short path, by providing "solutions" to rather obvious and "fixible" issues. When it comes to the paradoxes, dilemmas and controversies, he has no answers or tangible solutions. Not that he's to blame for it, after all no one has yet found the "right way" through the problems of intelligence practice and security threats in general, but Omand definitely sets the bar high and fails to jump over later on.
Nevertheless, it is a good book to read. Valuable referencing material, does expand a lot on the necessity for cooperation (interdepartmental, inter-agency, public and private sectors, etc.) - something that not many books pay attention to. He covers the main issues and writes in a simple way, which makes the book very readable. Worth going through, but one should not expect the "aha" moment at the end.

[Robert Nash]

Well written. Interesting read. Very rooted in the post 9/11 world.