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Using a qualitative text analysis tying into the hermeneutic tradition, this study aims to explain how Swedish military attachés, as part of the process of professionalization, reported information as possible proponents of their own armed service during WW1. Michael I. Handel’s taxonomy, including four definitions of politics in the intelligence process, will here be used to analyze how the interests of the Swedish army as a stakeholder in the competition for state funds came to light in intelligence reporting. Based on the perceived conflict between a “professional intelligence culture” and the political use of intelligence, Handel’s taxonomy will also be used to discuss the attachés attitudes regarding the relationship between professional military officers and political decision making. These conclusions are made to create a Swedish historical perspective in research geared towards the politicization of intelligence, a field dominated by Anglo-Saxon perspectives and generalizations based on empirical findings not necessarily relevant to Swedish conditions. This study is therefore an attempt at relating the Swedish intelligence history to the phenomenon of intelligence politicization in an era where the professionalization of the military trade was highly prevalent. The study concludes that the reports show a tendency, with slight exceptions, where the attachés defend and propagate the interests of the army. This especially in cases where there is a clear rival in the competition for state funding within a political bargaining process, here exemplified by the Swedish navy. Cultural ideals emphasizing professional judgements over political opportunism, where officers who can propagate military demands in spite of political opposition are idealized, come to light in the reports. This suggests that the socioprofessional change within the Swedish officer corps between 1890-1914 coincides with a will to speak truth to power in line with the interests of military profe

In analyzing the so called Datasaab affair, where the Swedish company Stansaab delivered an air traffic control system to the Soviet Union, supposedly violating American export regulations, this article examines the role of intelligence in conditions of complex interdependence. In a cold war context, where technologies were politicized as instruments of national security and welfare, private actors played a key role in the development and distribution of high technology. Yet, the role of technology in relation to national security cannot be seen as given, as technology can be mobilized as instruments in political and social processes and be given meaning that transcends its technical characteristics. Using a qualitative narrative approach, different depictions and explanations related to the Datasaab affair from both Swedish and American parties are presented. The study concludes that the policy objective of the Reagan administration to strengthen export regulations was paramount to the understanding and handling of the affair, and that the given meaning of the incident largely reflect the vested interests of the actor in question. This suggests that intelligence plays a role in shaping the understanding of events, which we argue should be examined further.

Using a qualitative text analysis tying into the hermeneutic tradition, this study aims to explain how Swedish military attachés, as part of the process of professionalization, reported information as possible proponents of their own armed service during WW1. Michael I. Handel’s taxonomy, including four definitions of politics in the intelligence process, will here be used to analyze how the interests of the Swedish army as a stakeholder in the competition for state funds came to light in intelligence reporting. Based on the perceived conflict between a “professional intelligence culture” and the political use of intelligence, Handel’s taxonomy will also be used to discuss the attachés attitudes regarding the relationship between professional military officers and political decision making. These conclusions are made to create a Swedish historical perspective in research geared towards the politicization of intelligence, a field dominated by Anglo-Saxon perspectives and generalizations based on empirical findings not necessarily relevant to Swedish conditions. This study is therefore an attempt at relating the Swedish intelligence history to the phenomenon of intelligence politicization in an era where the professionalization of the military trade was highly prevalent. The study concludes that the reports show a tendency, with slight exceptions, where the attachés defend and propagate the interests of the army. This especially in cases where there is a clear rival in the competition for state funding within a political bargaining process, here exemplified by the Swedish navy. Cultural ideals emphasizing professional judgements over political opportunism, where officers who can propagate military demands in spite of political opposition are idealized, come to light in the reports. This suggests that the socioprofessional change within the Swedish officer corps between 1890-1914 coincides with a will to speak truth to power in line with the interests of military profe