What is Past is Prologue: Historical and Organizational Factors in Establishing a Director of the United States Intelligence Community

Abstract

The U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) is the largest and most complex institution of its kind, comprised of sixteen semi-autonomous agencies with different, sometimes overlapping, spheres of responsibility. Historically, it has proven difficult to establish centralized leadership over the IC. Following the attacks of September 11, 2001, sweeping intelligence reforms were enacted, including legislation to empower central leadership by establishing a Director of National Intelligence. Despite these changes, resistance to central management plagues the IC. The failure in organizational reform is poorly understood, as the literature does not conceptualize intelligence agencies primarily as institutions. The approach proposed herein analyzes the developmental paths of agencies, which illuminates the organizational factors affecting reform. Utilizing the framework of Historical Institutionalism in the new context of intelligence agencies helps explain the challenges to reform posed by institutional interests and organizational cultures, impairing the realistic possibility of centralized control over disparate intelligence budgets, personnel, and priorities.