‘No Such Agency’ – the public often jokes that this is what NSA stands for because even its existence was kept top secret by the American government for a few years. President Harry Truman founded the National Security Agency (NSA) in 1952 after the USA had had success in creaking codes of the German and Japanese Army during World War II. The new agency was from then on responsible for decryption. Today, the two assignments of the NSA are Signals Intelligence and Information Assurance. Signals Intelligence, on the one hand, means the secret service has to supply the US government with “foreign intelligence [gathered] from communications and information systems”, which can be helpful in preventing terrorism or in negotiations with other countries. Information Assurance, on the other hand, is the protection of America’s state secrets. Together these two assignments make Network Warfare possible. Therefore, the overall purpose of this agency is helping America to achieve its political goals. Consequently, it also strengthens America's role as the world police.
The public could only imagine how this secret service actually worked until Edward Snowden made several disclosures about measures of the NSA in 2013. These revelations provoked extensive debates on the whistle-blower himself, the programs of the NSA, their legal justification, Snowden’s violations of law, the compatibility of surveillance and democracy, and on how this scandal affects the German-American relations especially because the Bundesnachrichtendienst (BND) is involved in the global monitoring, too.
This paper provides insight into the 2013 NSA spying scandal by giving an overview of historical considerations, legal aspects and the general deliberation of how democracy and surveillance can be combined. Further, the impacts on tthe German-American relations are presented. For one, the BND is considered as 'the German NSA', and the effects and reactions to the evelations in the two countries are portrayed.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- General information about the NSA
- The NSA spying scandal in 2013
- Historical considerations
- Biographical aspects of the whistle-blower Edward Snowden
- Summary of Snowden's revelations
- Legal aspects
- The legal basis for American surveillance
- Snowden's violations of law
- General deliberation: Surveillance and democracy
- The harm of surveillance to a democratic state
- Compatibility of surveillance and democracy in the future
- The impacts on German-American relations
- The BND as 'the German NSA'
- General information about the BND
- Cooperation between the BND and the NSA
- The effects of Snowden's revelations in America and Germany
- Reactions in the USA
- Reactions in Germany
- Changes in German-American relations
- Snowden's reflections one year later
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This seminar paper examines the 2013 NSA spying scandal, its impact on German-American relations, and the broader implications for surveillance and democracy. It analyzes the historical context of the scandal, focusing on Edward Snowden's motivations and the revelations he brought to light. The paper also explores the legal aspects of American surveillance and the ethical considerations surrounding the balance between security and privacy.
- The origins and operations of the National Security Agency (NSA)
- The impact of Edward Snowden's revelations on the understanding of NSA activities
- The legal framework surrounding American surveillance and its implications for democracy
- The role of the German intelligence agency, the BND, in cooperation with the NSA
- The implications of the scandal for German-American relations and the future of international cooperation
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The first chapter provides an overview of the NSA, its history, and its mission. It highlights the agency's responsibility for collecting signals intelligence and protecting national security, emphasizing its role in shaping America's position as a global power. The second chapter delves into the 2013 NSA spying scandal, examining the biography of Edward Snowden and the key revelations he brought to light. The focus here is on the impact of Snowden's actions on public perception of surveillance and its compatibility with democratic values. Finally, the third chapter analyzes the impact of the scandal on German-American relations, specifically exploring the BND's involvement in global monitoring and the reactions of both countries to Snowden's revelations.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The core focus of this work lies on the NSA spying scandal in 2013 and its consequences. Key topics include surveillance, democracy, privacy, whistleblowing, legal frameworks for intelligence gathering, and the relationship between the US and Germany. Specific terms like metadata, signals intelligence, and the BND play a central role in understanding the broader implications of the scandal.
- Citation du texte
- Anonym (Auteur), 2015, The NSA Spying Scandal in 2013 and Its Impacts on German-American Relations, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/383235
