DHS Formation and US Intelligence Sharing on Terrorism
This paper investigates whether the formation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after September 11, 2001 improved intelligence sharing on terrorism across federal agencies, local law enforcement, and international allies. Framed as a predictive study, the paper reviews scholarly literature representing both optimistic and pessimistic assessments of DHS effectiveness. Key sources address changes in law enforcement organizational culture, the risks of intelligence centralization, the origins of strategic surprise on 9/11, and the adequacy of DHS as a disaster management framework. The annotated bibliography synthesizes five peer-reviewed sources to inform best practices in public administration and counterterrorism policy.
- Introduction: DHS origins, purpose, and research focus
- Research Question: Predictive question on DHS and intelligence sharing
- Related Literature: Scholarly debate on DHS effectiveness and law enforcement
- Annotated Bibliography: Five annotated sources on DHS and counterterrorism
- References: Full citations for all sources used
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper clearly frames a predictive research question with well-defined dependent and independent variables, giving the analysis methodological structure appropriate for a public administration study.
- The literature review presents balanced perspectives — both optimistic (Marks and Sun, Parker and Stern) and critical (DeBruijn, Tierney) — demonstrating engagement with scholarly debate rather than one-sided argumentation.
- The annotated bibliography entries go beyond summary by explaining each source's methodological approach and its specific relevance to the research question.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates effective use of an annotated bibliography as a research planning tool. Each entry identifies the source's argument, methodology, and contribution to the central question, showing how a researcher maps a body of literature before drawing conclusions. This technique is foundational in graduate-level policy research.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a standard social science research proposal format: Introduction (context and significance), Research Question (variables and scope), Related Literature (thematic synthesis of five scholarly sources), and Annotated Bibliography (individual source evaluations). The structure mirrors an early-stage research design, moving from problem identification through literature mapping.
Introduction
The formation of the Department of Homeland Security after September 11 was an organizational and administrative response to the failure of the intelligence community to mitigate the attack. Although it predated the 9/11 Commission, the Department of Homeland Security benefitted from the results of the 9/11 Commission report, which advised a stronger information-sharing culture in the intelligence community. It has been assumed that intelligence sharing under an umbrella organization will prevent future attacks, facilitate intelligence gathering, and enable the formation of transnational intelligence communities that can more effectively respond to the threat of non-state actors. On the other hand, research has not uniformly shown the Department of Homeland Security to be effective. The Department of Homeland Security has led to major changes in the role and function of law enforcement. Whether these changes are predicted to be positive in terms of achieving national security goals is the key concern guiding this research.
Research Question
Will the formation of the Department of Homeland Security improve US intelligence sharing on terrorism? This research question calls for a predictive study. The dependent variable is the improvement of US intelligence sharing on terrorism — both among federal intelligence agencies and with local law enforcement and international allies in the global intelligence community. The independent variable of main interest is the formation of the Department of Homeland Security in the wake of September 11, particularly as the organization was supported by the results of the 9/11 Commission report. The case studies involve agencies in the US intelligence community.
There are no obvious answers to the specific research question. On the one hand, the United States intelligence community has done a commendable job, and research shows that the Department of Homeland Security has helped local law enforcement agencies to adapt and change their organizational cultures to meet the new demands of inter-agency cooperation and information sharing. On the other hand, research shows how bureaucratic consolidation and control are not necessarily effective, particularly with regard to intelligence. The Department of Homeland Security could even be construed as presenting a net risk that detracts from overall counterterrorism gains. Inspired by the need to improve local law enforcement responses to potential threats, this research question was developed to determine the best methods of public administration. The results of this research are of direct interest to the intelligence community, informing best policies and practices.
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