ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the range of political and institutional barriers that combined have constrained historically the role of ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence agencies in supporting the management of health security threats risks and hazards from 9/11 up to and including COVID 19. Some of the barriers identified and discussed in this chapter are: inconsistent governance and investment by political leadership in ‘Five Eyes’ countries and IC leadership with varying degrees of attention and capability efforts to better manage health security threats, risks and hazards. The discussion in this chapters provides a foundation for exploration in subsequent chapters about how governments and the IC that support them can overcome or mitigate some of the political and institutional barriers raised here.
