The Intelligence College in Europe as an example of the French imaginary of European security

Abstract

The establishment of the Intelligence College in Europe on the initiative of France aimed at creating a network structure which would form and diffuse a European intelligence culture. The College was a projection of the French imaginary of European security in the broad European cultural space in order to shape and consolidate the models of intelligence culture strengthening the practice of security cooperation on the European continent. The implementation of this initiative encountered diff iculties related to Europeanization of the process of institutionalization of the French project and the low eff ectiveness of the College’s activities, lacking an eff ective French leadership. Another limitation was the poor reception of the French imaginary by practitioners and experts participating in the projects of the Intelligence College in Europe. Prospects for a promotion of the imaginary of the European intelligence culture are subject to the establishment of an eff icient and legitimate leadership in the College, to which France is especially predestined.