Abstract

The rise of populist political movements poses a number of distinct and at times contradictory challenges for intelligence and security agencies. While populist concerns have served to enhance the status of security as the primary function of the state, populist politicians have also sought to challenge the independence and professionalism of intelligence and security agencies, while appeals to nationalist sentiment may threaten cross-border intelligence and security cooperation. Populism may also pose a challenge to intelligence oversight by seeking to question established human rights norms and politicising the work of intelligence oversight bodies.
This paper will examine the intelligence and security challenges of populism by focusing on the case of Britain’s exit from the European Union. The paper will examine the extent to which questions of intelligence and national security featured in debates about British membership of the European Union and will trace the role of intelligence and security actors, including current and former heads of UK intelligence agencies, in public debate about Brexit. The paper will examine the implications of Brexit for Britain’s future relationship with Europe both in terms of intelligence sharing and accountability. The aim of the paper is to locate arguments about intelligence within the wider framework of populist discourse in order to provide a broader understanding of the populist challenge to established national and cross-border intelligence and security communities.