How Do Leaders Shape the World - Intelligence Role

• Author: Gabriela-Simona Corsatea
• Position: Student, 'Mihai Viteazul' National Intelligence Academy, Romania
• Pages: 424-427

European Integration - Realities and Perspectives 2014

424

How Do Leaders Shape the World – Intelligence Role

Gabriela-Simona Coratea

1

Abstract: Living in the Era of constant change and anticipated movements seems to remain the struggling of

working out the perfect global strategy, based on both well-developed cooperation skills and most of all, the

supreme po wer conquer. The change from one domain to the other, one alliance to another, every single

country comes as no surprise when the big reveal is made – whether going for an increased level of mass-

destruction weapons o r just a simple deception that is due to put down an entire civilization, leaders are the

ones to be held responsible when bad things occur. History sho ws us how easily deception can be made, and

how easily a poor-developed country can actually gain po wer over a twice as much developed one. Those

days, collaboration among cultures and countries is imminent, without which failure is closer than ever. The

key is held in the Intelligence and among the main characteristics of a real leader, whose po werful and

strategic skills are meant to turn him into the best decision maker of the region.

Keywords: strategy; change; skills; intelligence; collaboration

1. Introduction

Throughout history, power was known as being the first and foremost form of domination. As one of

the well-known Italian politicians and diplomats Niccolo Machiavelli, the art of governing has been

turned from the art of guiding and leading into the deplorable art of domination (Machiavelli, 2011, p.

23) if talking from the perspective of the common wealth of the population. Intelligence plays a major

role when talking about leaders and the art of governing. During numerous conflicts followed by

success or failure, it has come to a conclusion based on Francis Bacon‘s acknowledgements, such as

‗Knowledge is power‘. (Bacon, 1965, p. 87) Living in the era of conflicts based on intelligence, the

country that has the biggest resources will not come to an acceptable outcome, only if its leader has

the skills and the power of adaptability developed enough to use the intelligence it has at his hands.

Following the lines below, I will show how a few memorable decisions in the past turned the

population into seeing a tremendous glance of the future, based on the intelligence they had or

did not have in their possession the decision makers. (Dutton, 2007, p. 192)

2. Shaping the History

Decision making is probably the most delicate and frightful situation in which a leader could ever be

put. Thinking about the interest of the county, the common wealth of the population and above all,

how morally understandable a certain decision could ever get are the general criteria over which

leaders are ought to keep on thinking before the history is written by somebody else.

1 Student, ―Mihai Viteazul‖ National Intelligence Academy, Romania, Address: 20, Odai Street, 1st district, Bucharest,

Romania, Tel.: +4021 410 65 50 / extension 1144, Fax: 021 310 47 50, Corresponding author: gabrielacorsatea@yahoo.com.