State Secrecy And Democracy

"In the wake of controversial disclosures of classified government information by WikiLeaks and Edward Snowden, questions about secrecy and the legitimacy of political institutions is rarely far from the headlines. Furthermore, state secrecy persists both in the foreign and domestic policy of democratic states, in the form of classified intelligence programs, espionage, secret military operations, diplomatic discretion, closed-door political bargaining, and bureaucratic opacity. This book explores important philosophical questions and issues surrounding democratic secrecy, above all whether the state's claim to restrict access to information can be justified. Dorota Mokrosinka examines the democratic status of secret uses of political power, arguing that secrecy is in fact a fundamental form of democratic governance, rather than an exception, and that secrecy protects the integrity of the democratic decision-making process. Examples such as the Manhattan Project, the Iraq war, collaboration between international secret services, secret voting and the Wiki-Leaks and Snowden disclosures are used throughout the book. State Secrecy and Democracy: A Philosophical Inquiry is essential reading for those in political philosophy, ethics, politics, international relations and security studies and law"--

This document, a curriculum guide, grew out of a symposium on the role of secrecy in U.S. foreign policy. The curriculum examines ways in which citizens get information about the government and how government secrecy influences that information. Students analyze covert U.S. involvement in such places as Iran, Guatemala, and Cuba, and consider the ramifications of the secret methods the government has used to further U.S. goals. Following an introduction, the guide offers units on: (1) "Getting Started"; (2) "Rights and Responsibilities"; (3) "Secrecy and Covert Action in Recent Years"; (4) "The Growth of the National Security State"; (5) "Interference with Foreign Governments"; (6) "Secrecy and National Security"; (7) "Checks and Balances"; and (8) "The Limits of Covert Action." The document also includes a timeline, an indication of suggested grade levels for readings, a glossary, and a bibliography. Many of the individual readings present portions of primary source materials for student consideration. Contains 57 references. (SG)

Theories of democratic transparency and foreign policy success -- Not so exceptional : the theory, uses, and reality of national security secrecy in democracies -- The potential abuses of national security secrecy -- The consequences of potential abuse for public consent -- Solving the secrecy dilemma -- The consequences of national security oversight in democracies -- A view of national security oversight institutions -- Revealing evidence : support, spending and success -- Conclusion -- Implications and innovations -- Apendices: formal models, data and statistical result.

Addresses the issue: How can the U.S. carry out effective intelligence work and still remain true to its democratic principles?

“A timely and provocative book exploring the origins of the national security state and the urgent challenge of reining it in” (The Washington Post). From Dick Cheney’s man-sized safe to the National Security Agency’s massive intelligence gathering, secrecy has too often captured the American government’s modus operandi better than the ideals of the Constitution. In this important book, Frederick A.O. Schwarz Jr., who was chief counsel to the US Church Committee on Intelligence—which uncovered the FBI’s effort to push Martin Luther King Jr. to commit suicide; the CIA’s enlistment of the Mafia to try to kill Fidel Castro; and the NSA’s thirty-year program to get copies of all telegrams leaving the United States—uses examples ranging from the dropping of the first atomic bomb and the Cuban Missile Crisis to Iran–Contra and 9/11 to illuminate this central question: How much secrecy does good governance require? Schwarz argues that while some control of information is necessary, governments tend to fall prey to a culture of secrecy that is ultimately not just hazardous to democracy but antithetical to it. This history provides the essential context to recent cases from Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden. Democracy in the Dark is a natural companion to Schwarz’s Unchecked and Unbalanced, cowritten with Aziz Huq, which plumbed the power of the executive branch—a power that often depends on and derives from the use of secrecy. “[An] important new book . . . Carefully researched, engagingly written stories of government secrecy gone amiss.” —The American Prospect

Contrary to popular assumption, the development of stronger oversight mechanisms actually leads to greater secrecy rather than the reverse. When Should State Secrets Stay Secret? examines modern trends in intelligence oversight development by focusing on how American oversight mechanisms combine to bolster an internal security system and thus increase the secrecy of the intelligence enterprise. Genevieve Lester uniquely examines how these oversight mechanisms have developed within all three branches of government, how they interact, and what types of historical pivot points have driven change among them. She disaggregates the concept of accountability into a series of specified criteria in order to grapple with these pivot points. This book concludes with a discussion of a series of normative questions, suggesting ways to improve oversight mechanisms based on the analytical criteria laid out in the analysis. It also includes a chapter on the workings of the CIA to which a number of CIA officers contributed.

In a democracy, the public should have the right to know what the government is doing. Secrecy should be the rare exception, reserved for a few cases in which the national security is truly at stake. This book is the hearing before the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate that took place on February 13th 2008. While considering the state secrets privileges, assertions of the privilege by the executive branch were examined as well.The state secrets privilege is a common law evidentiary privilege that shields sensitive national security information from disclosure in litigation. The government is the only party that can assert the privilege, and application of the privilege can result in dismissal of civil litigation. The United States Senate, in this book, discuss the importance that courts act as an independent check on the government when it asserts the state secret privilege. It proposes a policy designed to promote a meaningful, independent review.

Secrets and Leaks examines the complex relationships among executive power, national security, and secrecy. State secrecy is vital for national security, but it can also be used to conceal wrongdoing. How then can we ensure that this power is used responsibly? Typically, the onus is put on lawmakers and judges, who are expected to oversee the executive. Yet because these actors lack access to the relevant information and the ability to determine the harm likely to be caused by its disclosure, they often defer to the executive's claims about the need for secrecy. As a result, potential abuses are more often exposed by unauthorized disclosures published in the press. But should such disclosures, which violate the law, be condoned? Drawing on several cases, Rahul Sagar argues that though whistleblowing can be morally justified, the fear of retaliation usually prompts officials to act anonymously--that is, to "leak" information. As a result, it becomes difficult for the public to discern when an unauthorized disclosure is intended to further partisan interests. Because such disclosures are the only credible means of checking the executive, Sagar writes, they must be tolerated, and, at times, even celebrated. However, the public should treat such disclosures skeptically and subject irresponsible journalism to concerted criticism.