The effects of the new governance on the work of the Information Office and national security coordination

Abstract

The new Hungarian Government restructured the direction of the civilian national security services in 2010. It abolished the unified direction of the three civilian services, dividing it between the Minister of Interior and the Minister for Foreign Affairs. The article focuses on the consequences of directing the civilian intelligence agency under Minister for Foreign Affairs. The author analyses how Hungarian foreign policy may benefit from the move, and how the work of the Information Office will be affected. The article explains how the change may effect the cooperation of the Information Office with its most important counterparts, for example its sister organization, the Constitutional Protection Office – now under the direction of the Minister of Interior –, and the other law enforcement agencies. While analyzing the effects of divided direction, the author proposes certain changes in order to achieve better coordination in the field of national security.