Deep state in the United States

The concept of a deep state is a conspiracy theory[1][2][3][4] which claims that there exists a coordinated effort by career government employees and others to influence state policy without regard for democratically elected leadership.[5][6][7][8][9] The term, which was originally used to refer to sophisticated shadow governments in countries like Turkey and post-Soviet Russia, has also been used in American political science to refer to entrenched government institutions wielding power, without necessarily implying a conspiracy.[10][11]

The term was used in numerous titles about the American government written by, for example, Marc Ambinder, David W. Brown, Peter Dale Scott and Mike Lofgren.

The term gained popularity in some circles during the 2016 U.S. Presidential Election in opposition to mainstream Republican and Democratic candidates and has also been used in 2017 during the Trump administration.[12]

Definition in political science

Deep state has been defined in 2014 by Mike Lofgren, a former Republican U.S. congressional aide, as "a hybrid association of elements of government and parts of top-level finance and industry that is effectively able to govern the United States without reference to the consent of the governed as expressed through the formal political process."[13][14]

In The Concealment of the State, professor Jason Royce Lindsey argues that even absent a conspiratorial agenda, the term deep state is useful for understanding aspects of the national security establishment in developed countries, with emphasis on the United States. Lindsey writes that the deep state draws power from the national security and intelligence communities, a realm where secrecy is a source of power.[15] Alfred W. McCoy states that the increase in the power of the U.S. intelligence community since the September 11 attacks "has built a fourth branch of the U.S. government" that is "in many ways autonomous from the executive, and increasingly so."[16]

Concerns during the Eisenhower administration

President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned in his 1961 farewell address of the potential danger from the military–industrial complex. "In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist."[17] Mike Lofgren said the military-industrial complex is the private part of the deep state.[18] However, Marc Ambinder says that is one of the myths of the deep state; and the parts of a deep state are "often at odds with one another."[19]

Concerns during the Kennedy administration

President John F. Kennedy's assassination has spurred many theories, some of which would involve a "deep state". University of California, Berkeley Professor Peter Dale Scott's 1993 book Deep Politics and the Death of JFK and other books claim to expose America’s deep state. University of Miami Professor Joseph Uscinski says, "The concept has always been very popular among conspiracy theorists, whether they call it a deep state or something else." [20]

Use of the term during the Trump administration

Donald Trump supporters use the term to refer to their claims that intelligence officers and executive branch officials guide policy through leaking or other internal means.[21][12] The term's conspiratorial undertone has made it popular on conservative and far-right news outlets sympathetic to the Trump administration, including Breitbart News.[22] It has also been discussed by The New York Times[23] and The Observer.[24]

Donald Trump and Steve Bannon, his chief strategist, have both made claims about a deep state which they believe is interfering with the president's agenda.[25][26] Some Trump allies and right-wing media outlets have claimed that former president Barack Obama is coordinating a deep state resistance to Trump.[25][27] The growth of this narrative within the White House has been linked to Trump's unproven[28][29] allegation that Obama wiretapped his telephone during the 2016 Presidential campaign.[30]

While popular among Trump allies, critics of use of the term in the U.S. dismiss it as a conspiracy theory[31] and argue that the leaks frustrating the Trump administration lack the organizational depth of deep states in other countries, and that use of the term in the U.S. could be used to justify suppressing dissent.[32][25]

See also

References

  1. ↑
  2. ↑ Michael Hafford (2017-03-09). "Deep State: Inside Donald Trump's Paranoid Conspiracy Theory". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  3. ↑ Oliver Willis (2017-03-09). "The Alex Jones influence: Trump’s "deep state" fears come from his conspiracy theorist ally and adviser". Salon. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  4. ↑ "'Deep State' is the latest US conspiracy theory you need to know about". New Zealand Herald. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2017-03-13.
  5. ↑ Ambinder, Marc; Grady, D.B. (2013). Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Wiley. ISBN 978-1118146682.
  6. ↑ Michael J. Glennon (2014). "National Security and Double Government" (PDF). Harvard National Security Journal. 5.
  7. ↑ Jordan Michael Smith (October 19, 2014). "Vote all you want. The secret government won't change.". The Boston Globe.
  8. ↑ Anand Giridharadas (September 15, 2015). "Examining Who Runs the United States". New York Times.
  9. ↑ Geoff Dyer (December 10, 2014). "CIA report is a strike back against America's deep state". The Financial Times.
  10. ↑ The State: Past, Present, Future Bob Jessop, page 224, December 2015 John Wiley & Sons
  11. ↑ New Directions in Criminological Theory Steve Hall,Simon Winlow page 229
  12. 1 2 Amanda Taub (February 16, 2017). "As Leaks Multiply, Fears of a 'Deep State' in America". The New York Times.
  13. ↑ "Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State". BillMoyers.com. 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
  14. ↑ The State: Past, Present, Future Bob Jessop, page 224, December 2015 John Wiley & Sons
  15. ↑ [The Concealment of the State] Jason Royce Lindsey, 2013 pages 35–36
  16. ↑ Scahill, Jeremy (2017-07-22). "Donald Trump and the Coming Fall of the American Empire". The Intercept. Retrieved 2017-07-29.
  17. ↑ "Eisenhower's Farewell Address to the Nation". mcadams.posc.mu.edu. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  18. ↑ ""Deep State" Truthout Interview -". 2016-02-22. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  19. ↑ Ambinder, Marc; Ambinder, Marc (2017-03-10). "Five myths about the deep state". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2017-08-09.
  20. ↑ "How the “deep state” conspiracy theory went mainstream". Newsweek. 2 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  21. ↑ Ishaan Tharoor (February 1, 2017). "Is Trump fighting the deep state or creating his own?". The Washington Post.
  22. ↑
  23. ↑ Taub, Amanda; Fisher, Max (February 17, 2017). "As Leaks Multiply, Fears of a 'Deep State' in America". The New York Times. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
  24. ↑ Rebellion Brews in Washington—But American ‘Deep State’ Is Only a Myth, John R. Schindler, The Observer, 22 February 2017
  25. 1 2 3 Julie Hirschfeld Davis (March 6, 2017). "Rumblings of a ‘Deep State’ Undermining Trump? It Was Once a Foreign Concept". The New York Times.
  26. ↑ Phillip Rucker, Robert Costa, Ashley Parker (March 5, 2017). "Inside Trump’s fury: The president rages at leaks, setbacks and accusations". The Washington Post.
  27. ↑ David Weigel (March 7, 2017). "Trump and Republicans see a 'deep state' foe: Barack Obama". The Washington Post.
  28. ↑ Allison Graves (March 5, 2017). "Why the White House defense of Trump wiretap accusation is misleading". Politifact.
  29. ↑ Sabrina Siddiqui, David Smith (March 8, 2017). "Top Republicans refuse to back up Trump's unproven wiretapping claim". The Guardian.
  30. ↑ Benjamin, Daniel and McCloy, John J. (March 2017). "Why Steve Bannon Wants You to Believe in the Deep State". POLITICO Magazine.
  31. ↑ Stanage, Niall (June 5, 2017). "THE MEMO: Is Trump a victim of the 'deep state'?". The Hill.
  32. ↑ David A. Graham (February 20, 2017). "Why it's dangerous to talk about a deep state". The Atlantic.
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