Samenvatting

This article examines how specific characteristics of defense intelli gence affect the relationship between intelligence producers and
their clients in a manner that is different from prevailing concep tualizations commonly found in civilian intelligence organizations.
To do so, the paper first addresses some important distinguishing
characteristics of defense intelligence. These include the embedded
character of defense intelligence agencies in military organizations,
specific military cultural traits and the mixture of military and
civilian personnel. Based on literature study and desk research,
the paper then identifies three producer-client paradigms: I) dis tance versus closeness, II) the ideal of analytic objectivity, and III)
intelligence lays the foundation for decision-making. Confronting
these paradigms with the characteristics of defense intelligence,
we find that defense intelligence producer-client relations are more
multifaceted, layered and networked than commonly explained.