The architecture of national security: an urgent necessity

El Mostrador, November 4, 2022

There are ample and substantial arguments to initiate a process of discussion and deliberation to create a national security institution. The Intelligence Law has been dormant in Congress for years due to a lack of political will. It is true that improvement does not necessarily require new laws, but rather quality management and the utilization of the unexploited spaces that the current law allows. However, alongside quality management, it is necessary to review, redesign, and build a national security institution for Chile in the 21st century. Without it, we will be exposed to aimless actions, lacking guidance and direction, in matters that represent a predominant, priority, and urgent concern for our fellow citizens.

The editorial of El Mostrador from November 2 presents a challenge for us as a country on a complex, delicate, and highly relevant issue. Indeed, if there is an area of national activity that is poorly designed, inefficient, and inadequate in response to what it needs to produce, it is national security, of which intelligence is a branch. Intelligence, or rather the lack of it, in terms of timeliness and quality, is a manifestation of a more serious problem. It is not the problem itself, but a symptom that we must confront the design and architecture of national security as a coherent, synergistic, and effective system, devoid of ideologies and blindness; without myths or voluntarism, but centered on the current realities of the country and its future projection. A key system in the political leadership of the State.

We lack an institution that works on the security of the State of Chile in a professional and permanent manner. Of course, this should be under the political leadership of the democratically elected Government, but centered on the premise that no one wants to destroy the State, but rather to ensure its continuity. Political leadership, in terms of national security, materializes in the establishment of national interests (which are conceptual, declarative, broad in scope, and long-term) and national objectives (which are more specific, shorter-term, and must include a compliance metric).

These two elements are key, as they constitute the political reins guiding our country’s insertion into the world, our foreign relations, and national defense. National interests and objectives enable the coordinated work of all the instruments of power and influence of the State – Hard, Soft, and Smart Power – aligned synergistically to achieve the objectives. Intelligence is not separate from this political leadership. It depends on it. With always scarce resources, it is necessary to prioritize intelligence production efforts, and the definition of national interests and objectives fulfills that role. If I do not know where I am going, I will never know what the favorable wind is and what dangers and risks I will face. What I am saying is nothing new; it is the main mission of corporate governance in large companies, which translates into strategic development planning. The problem we have is that at the level of the State of Chile, no one is fulfilling that function.

When we say that we need to design a national security architecture, what are we talking about? We are talking about a permanent institution, a mirror image of what we know as the “second floor.” The second floor has the task of advising and cooperating with the Head of State in political leadership. It receives a government program and analyzes, coordinates, and plans the fulfillment of that program, evaluates its progress, and, of course, also advises on contingencies to produce a process of reasoned and reasonable political decision-making, oriented towards the government program that the President presented to the public as a democratic alternative when he submitted his candidacy for popular vote.

What we are proposing as a necessity is that there be an equivalent organization, but focused on the risks and threats, strengths and weaknesses of other actors that may or want to affect our interests or oppose the fulfillment of our national objectives. The production of useful information for political decision-making, in a timely manner to counter risks and threats and to seize opportunities, is a necessity for a country that in the 21st century depends on globalization and its insertion into the world for its development, well-being, and security.

This new design leaves behind the separation between external and internal threats and focuses on the effects that risks and threats have on our society, regardless of the physical location of the organization or individuals. It matters little where a hacker is physically located; what is important is having timely information to develop response capabilities and to integrate the entire capacity and power of the country in that response. The national interests and objectives of Chile, in a global and interconnected world, are located both inside and outside the country. We are dependent on our foreign trade and the global maritime transport system. What happens in China matters to us, as does the Panama Canal or the Strait of Malacca. It is of no use to be one of the leading producers of copper and lithium in the world if we are unable to reach markets with our products.

Furthermore, despite efforts to improve our capacity for generating unconventional renewable energies, whether we like it or not, our energy dependence on foreign sources is nearly total. Our economic exchange with the Asia-Pacific region is vital for the country, accounting for almost half of the foreign trade that sustains our economy and the well-being of our population. Our priorities must be placed where our realities lie, which – as previously mentioned – can be within Chile, as is the case in the Southern Macrozone, or at the borders that separate us from Peru and Bolivia, or along the extensive border we have with Argentina, or outside of Chile, due to our reality as a country open to the world.

There are ample and substantial arguments to initiate a process of discussion and deliberation to create a national security institution. The Intelligence Law has been dormant in Congress for years due to a lack of political will. It is true that improvement does not necessarily require new laws, but rather quality management and the utilization of the unexploited spaces that the current law allows. However, alongside quality management, it is necessary to review, redesign, and build a national security institution for Chile in the 21st century. Without it, we will be exposed to aimless actions, lacking guidance and direction, in matters that represent a predominant, priority, and urgent concern for our fellow citizens.

Richard Kouyoumdjian
Vice President AthenaLab

Source: El Mostrador