Leiden University Student Repository

Mauri, Alessandra (2023)

To what extent was the “committee for the security of the republic” (COPASIR) capable to hold PM CONTE accountable during the first wave of the covid-19 pandemic in Italy? Democratic intelligence accountability

Bachelor thesis | Security Studies (BSc)

In 2020, more than one hundred documents were classified in Italy throughout the first six months of the coronavirus pandemic. The scope of the following thesis is to contribute to the live debate in intelligence studies, on transparency and secrecy, by proposing a case study on the Italian experience during the first six months of 2020. It will delve specifically into the accountability channel present between the committee for the security of the republic and the prime minister Conte as head of the intelligence services. Results shows the partial capacity of the committee to ensure transparency and legitimacy over the prime minister who, by utilizing national security as a constant justification, severely manipulated the use of state secrecy for his own purposes. Thus, suggestions propose the need to implement a stronger oversight mechanism to ensure a reasonable use of secrecy in times of crisis.

Italy, COVID-19, COPASIR, PM CONTE, secrecy, transparency, parliamentary oversight.

Author

Mauri, Alessandra

Faculty

Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs

Supervisors

Van Puyvelde, D.T.N.

ECTS Credits

15

Language

en