This chapter considers main aspects of the general context for security sector reform in South East Europe and then the more specific challenges represented by intelligence and security agencies which were so central to authoritarian regimes. The contemporary challenges posed by developing intelligence networks and the implications of broader definitions of the security sector are considered. The possibilities of establishing democratic control and oversight of these agencies at various levels within and beyond the state are then discussed and it is concluded that this task is a never-ending process since the security sector may regress as well as progress.