Networks and National Security: Dynamics, Effectiveness and Organisation by Chad Whelan

Author:Chad Whelan [Whelan, Chad]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, Public Affairs & Administration
ISBN: 9781409476689
Google: 9uKhAgAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 17684678
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing
Published: 2012-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Network Control and Network Policy

There are many formal policies and procedures associated with organisational networks in the field of counter-terrorism in Australia. These include: intergovernmental agreements between the commonwealth, states and territories;1 policies and procedures that outline requirements for the sharing of information2 as well as the roles and responsibilities of government departments and agencies involved in counter-terrorism;3 and other mechanisms such as a memorandum of understanding and exchange of letters between agencies that support specialised security networks (see Dupont 2004). The effects of these policies and the tensions associated with them will be examined later in this chapter. The important point to note is that many different levels of policy exist in relation to national security and counter-terrorism, many of which can be operative at any one point of time in any network.

Network control is important for all networks (Kenis and Provan 2006), but it is even more important in the context of national security (Brodeur and Dupont 2006). Policies and procedures are one of the most important ways to address the risks of problems arising in networks by keeping network members focused on shared goals rather than individual goals. Some interviewees in this study express the view that it is almost impossible for security networks to operate without at least some working policies to negotiate the different mandates and objectives of government departments and agencies. As a former senior intelligence officer from the Australian Defence Force states:

Each agency has different legislative requirements, they have different policy imperatives, they have different ministers if you want to talk through a government setting, each of which have their own agendas and requirements. You virtually could not work unless you had sat down and agreed a set of procedures to coordinate. … So, it is just absolutely essential and at all levels.

The complex dynamics of security networks, this interviewee argues, mean that an agreed set of procedures between network members is required for a network to operate. Network policy can be developed in a number of ways. For example, as with ‘network development’, a policy framework can be imposed on networks by government, setting out the procedures according to which a network needs to operate (see Provan et al. 2007). In lead organisation-governed networks, the lead agency that articulates the goals of the network and recruits partner agencies who share these goals may also be in a position to impose formal procedures on other network members. In shared-governed networks, as this interviewee suggests, procedures are established in consultation with all members at the time the network is developed.

A policy framework should minimise the risk that network members will prioritise their own interests over the interests of the network – a recognised problem by organisational network analysts (e.g. Provan and Kenis 2008). A member of the Protective Security Coordination Centre explains: ‘I think procedures are key because everybody has a common understanding of where they fit, what is expected of them and what the network is for’. The interviewee also suggests that such

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