Political and budgetary oversight of the Ukranian intelligence community processes, problems and prospects for reform

• Main Author: Petrov, Oleksii
• Other Authors: Doyle, Richard
• Published: Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School 2012
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10945/3229

This thesis addresses the problem of providing policy and budget oversight of Ukrainian intelligence organizations in accordance with norms and practices developed in contemporary Western democracies. As Ukraine continues the process of democratic consolidation, the issue of intelligence oversight remains vital, to ensure political accountability and financial efficiency. Oversight of intelligence is also important to the political initiatives Ukraine has undertaken to improve ties to NATO and the EU. Official government documents, news reports and other literature on the intelligence system in Ukraine, as well as studies of intelligence oversight within democracies are the primary sources of data. This thesis reviews the principles and problems involved in parliamentary and executive oversight of intelligence in western and transitional democracies. It details the organizations and budgets of the Ukrainian intelligence agencies, as well as the legislative and executive systems for providing financial resources to them and for conducting oversight of them. The most important problems identified include the needs to separate intelligence functions from security and lawenforcement tasks within Ukrainian intelligence organizations, create an all-source intelligence analysis agency and establish independent and well-staffed bodies in legislative and executive branches dealing exclusively with intelligence and intelligence budget oversight functions.