“Democracy begins where citizens deliberate about matters of common concern.”
Jürgen Habermas
(18 June 1929
– 14 March 2026)
March 16, 2026 — Jürgen Habermas was one of the most influential contemporary political philosophers, especially for thinking about communication, rationality, legitimacy and democracy. Follow us on Twitter: @INTEL_TODAY
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It is not without irony that he left for a better place on Pi Day, the day when we celebrate the most famous of irrationalities.
Indeed, great ideas are rarely accepted easily. And if some see the beginning of acceptance during their lifetimes, one must admit that Habermas dies when the world is at the polar extreme of his ideals.
Public debate is reduced to propaganda and invective, respect for international law is fading, and secrecy thrives over transparency. Consequently, people no longer trust their institutions. Conspiracism and extremism are on the rise everywhere.
A decade ago, I specifically created Intel Today to open a public debate about intelligence issues — such as the fine-tuning between democracy and secrecy — in the spirit of rationality.
In The Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere, Habermas describes the public sphere as a place where citizens can discuss matters of common concern using rational debate. The problem is that intelligence has historically been excluded from that sphere because of secrecy.
In The Theory of Communicative Action, Habermas contrasts strategic communication (used to manipulate or achieve goals) and communicative rationality (aimed at mutual understanding). Intelligence culture is dominated by strategic communication: deception, disinformation, secrecy, and psychological operations.
A core Habermasian concern is legitimacy. Policies are legitimate when they can be justified through rational public discourse among citizens. But intelligence decisions are typically classified, executive-driven, and shielded from debate. This produces what can only be described as a legitimacy deficit.
Habermas never intended to weaken institutions but to subject them to rational critique. This distinction matters. Habermas defends constitutional democracy, not radical anti-state positions, but insisted on placing them within democratic reasoning and norms.
Intel Today is truly a Habermasian project, as the blog aims to extend the democratic public sphere to intelligence affairs by fostering rational debate about the balance between secrecy and democratic accountability.
Today, Nicolas Sarkozy returns to court for the Libyan money graft in connection with the UTA Flight 772 bombing affair. On Sunday, Belgian people will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the 2016 Brussels bombings. Next month, jury selection will begin in the United States for the trial linked to the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
And what do we really know? The formidable French journalist Pierre Péan was convinced that the official story of the UTA affair is false. Belgian people still know very little about the role that Oussama Atar played in the attacks and why Didier Reynders — himself charged with money laundering — insisted on his liberation and return from Iraq. And we still know almost nothing about the true story of the Pan Am Flight 103 bombing.
That said, let me remind you that Habermas was also the philosopher of hope. He truly believed that we must keep hope alive when everything seems dark. I fully agree. And today, more than ever, we must.
References
Jürgen Habermas — Wikipedia
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Remembering Jürgen Habermas : On the fine-tuning between democracy and secrecy [How can democracy deliberate about institutions that must remain secret?]
Intel Today 