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definition of what may constitute a UN intelligence system. In addition, the sensitive and secretive nature of intelligence and the fact that it is prone to controversy are factors that contribute to undermining the organisation's confidence in being explicit about the use of intelligence assets.
Also, if intelligence already exists in some form, why would subsequent secretaries-general (SGs) seek to acquire an intelligence capability? The answer again is twofold: first is the increasing appreciation of the unique role that intelligence can play in peacekeeping, conflict management, and conflict prevention. This understanding has come not by accident but by accumulated experience and lessons learned from some of the world's most violent conflicts in recent history. The other answer is more or less due to an increased confidence in the organisation's role in international peace and security following the end of the Cold War. During that conflict, the UN was sidelined by the two warring blocs as both super powers contested for control of spheres of influence. The end of the Cold War brought with it enthusiasm and hope for a more secure world and the promise that states would cooperate to maintain the peace that had been won. The fact that the UN perceives intelligence to be significant in its arsenal of tools to further its mandates also means that the rationale for collective intelligence is well understood within the organisation's decision-making framework. Also, in the opinion of a senior staffer at the UNHQ, recognition by some member states of the role intelligence could play also leverages the SG in a way that encourages them to overtly solicit and use intelligence in the organisation's peace and security mandates without the damaging association courted by negative aspects of the intelligence complex.
The Idea of UN Intelligence
An important question, also in this vein of argument, had been what might consist of the roles of UN intelligence and how it might be different from those of state intelligence organisations. According to An Agenda for