ABSTRACT
The focus of this chapter is on the relationships between intelligence institutions and other political institutions. I suggest that there is a commonly held belief that intelligence and politics ought to be independent. On this analysis, this independence is bidirectional: intelligence practices and institutions need to be independent of political influence, and political actors and institutions need to be independent of the influence of intelligence actors. However, I then show that this is a myth, but a noble one that has a sound moral foundation. Looking to this foundation, I argue that what ought to be aimed is that intelligence institutions are worthy of trust. I then offer three different elements of trust: reliability, predictability, and correct intention, to show how the aspirational elements captured in the independence myth can be met by having trustworthy intelligence institutions.
