Beyond secrets and surveillance: understanding analytic reform in the Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security

The 1974–77 Royal Commission on Intelligence and Security laid the foundations of Australia’s modern intelligence enterprise. This article tracks Commissioner Robert Hope’s thinking regarding analytic reform, including the principle that analysts should work independently of both collectors and policymakers. Hope upheld the ideal of analytic independence for foreign intelligence while muting its importance for security intelligence. This inconsistency suggests that Hope’s goal was not only to improve the quality of Australian intelligence but also to bolster its public legitimacy. Emphasising analysis allowed Hope to show that intelligence was more than the shadowy work of stealing secrets and surveilling threats.