POLITICAL SCIENCE

Clash Between the Practices of a Nation State and the Work of Secret Security Services

Clash Between the Practices of a Nation State and the Work of Secret Security Services

Introduction

According to the Bill of Rights 1689, the common people of the United Kingdom have the foundational knowledge to have the knowledge and information about everything that occurs within the state (“The Bill of Rights”, 1689). This means that all activities must be done by providing complete information to the public so that the activities are open for scrutiny. This will help the public to know what their state is doing and will provide them the opportunity to stop anything that seems to be wrong in front of them through veto power. The state of the United Kingdom can only be called a sovereign one only if people are provided with complete information and thus, total transparency. This is also the foundational characteristic of the United Kingdom; however, its implementation can result in serious issues.

The issue that stops transparency between the nation's state and the public is the working of secret and intelligence services under the supervision of the Government. The clash between transparency in nation's state information and the secret intelligence security information is not an easy one to solve (Omand 2010, p.14). This paper examines the various literature, laws and legal implications that apply to the issue. These laws will certainly help to provide a better picture of the current scenario under the legal aspects. In addition, the paper also points out the key recommendations that could be adopted to solve the issue keeping in front the perspective of the common people. These recommendations would only prove beneficial for the nation's state, as the intelligence acts have resulted in serious damaging acts in the recent past.

Discussion

People are In charge Of a Nation's State

In a democratic state like the UK, people are sovereign and they believe to have their say in everything that occurs within the nation-state. Considering this fact, the state should only do and allow doing those acts that are people have permitted to do. This means that the state should provide full information to the local public about every action that they take. Moreover, the state should allow the common people to have a big say in whatever it does. This means that people must be provided with complete transparency to each and everything within a state. The state can be called a sovereign one only if people are provided with complete information and thus, total transparency. This is also the foundational characteristic of the United Kingdom; however, its implementation can result in serious issues.

Reason for the Lack of Transparency

One of the prime reasons for lack of transparency is the working of secret intelligence services in contrary with the state government. This makes it impossible for the state government to have complete transparency as there are secret missions and the disclosure of such missions can definitely kill the purpose. An example of such secret intelligence task is ...