The Truth as a Weapon? : Public Truth-Telling as an Emerging Intelligence Practice
(2023) ISA 2023 Annual Convention- Abstract
- What is done in the act of public intelligence disclosures? Leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, US intelligence agencies engaged in an unprecedented amount of public disclosures, causing scholars and journalists to describe it as a tectonic shift in intelligence practice. Going beyond the traditional question of strategic aims related to intelligence disclosures, this article takes a critical standpoint and investigates the practice, or modality, of releasing intelligence to the public. Drawing on Foucault’s lectures on parrhesia, it argues that we should see public intelligence disclosures as part of a ‘parrhesiastic game’ where intelligence agencies construct themselves as truth-tellers. Truth-telling is not primarily... (More)
- What is done in the act of public intelligence disclosures? Leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, US intelligence agencies engaged in an unprecedented amount of public disclosures, causing scholars and journalists to describe it as a tectonic shift in intelligence practice. Going beyond the traditional question of strategic aims related to intelligence disclosures, this article takes a critical standpoint and investigates the practice, or modality, of releasing intelligence to the public. Drawing on Foucault’s lectures on parrhesia, it argues that we should see public intelligence disclosures as part of a ‘parrhesiastic game’ where intelligence agencies construct themselves as truth-tellers. Truth-telling is not primarily a question of evidence, but a ‘speech activity’ with the power to transform relationships with uncertain outcomes. This way conceived, the risks connected to disclosing intelligence do not simply involve an exposure of sources, but relate to the broader act of determining an ‘open situation’. To demonstrate the usefulness of truth-telling as a framework, the article then turns to the media debate on US disclosures and unpacks seemingly conflictual criticisms, probing questions like: Is disclosing intelligence an act of transparency enhancing public trust, or is it a new way of wielding power? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/398bea26-637a-426b-a897-00bc0af2f7c3
- author
- Ördén, Hedvig LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2023-03-18
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- published
- subject
- conference name
- ISA 2023 Annual Convention
- conference location
- Canada
- conference dates
- 2019-03-15 - 2023-03-18
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 398bea26-637a-426b-a897-00bc0af2f7c3
- date added to LUP
- 2023-09-05 10:37:23
- date last changed
- 2024-03-20 08:24:37
@misc{398bea26-637a-426b-a897-00bc0af2f7c3,
abstract = {{What is done in the act of public intelligence disclosures? Leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, US intelligence agencies engaged in an unprecedented amount of public disclosures, causing scholars and journalists to describe it as a tectonic shift in intelligence practice. Going beyond the traditional question of strategic aims related to intelligence disclosures, this article takes a critical standpoint and investigates the practice, or modality, of releasing intelligence to the public. Drawing on Foucault’s lectures on parrhesia, it argues that we should see public intelligence disclosures as part of a ‘parrhesiastic game’ where intelligence agencies construct themselves as truth-tellers. Truth-telling is not primarily a question of evidence, but a ‘speech activity’ with the power to transform relationships with uncertain outcomes. This way conceived, the risks connected to disclosing intelligence do not simply involve an exposure of sources, but relate to the broader act of determining an ‘open situation’. To demonstrate the usefulness of truth-telling as a framework, the article then turns to the media debate on US disclosures and unpacks seemingly conflictual criticisms, probing questions like: Is disclosing intelligence an act of transparency enhancing public trust, or is it a new way of wielding power?}},
author = {{Ördén, Hedvig}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{03}},
title = {{The Truth as a Weapon? : Public Truth-Telling as an Emerging Intelligence Practice}},
year = {{2023}},
}