Democracy in the dark : the seduction of government secrecy / Frederick A. O. Schwarz Jr.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Schwarz, Frederick A. O. (Frederick August Otto), 1935- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Freedom of information--United States.

Freedom of information.

Official secrets--United States.

Official secrets.

Intelligence service--Law and legislation--United States.

Intelligence service.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (369 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

New York, New York ; London, England : The New Press, 2015.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"From Dick Cheney's man-sized safe to NSA's massive intelligence gathering, secrecy has captured the American government's modus operandi better than the ideals of the Constitution. In this important new book, Fritz Schwarz, who was chief counsel to the U.S. Church Committee on Intelligence-which uncovered CIA plots to assassinate world leaders, including Fidel Castro's exploding cigar-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 historical survey provides the essential context to understand recent cases from Chelsea Manning to Edward Snowden. Democracy in the Dark is a natural companion to Schwarz's Unchecked and Unbalanced, co-written with Aziz Huq, which plumbed the power of the executive branch-a power that often depends on and derives from the use of secrecy. "-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Introduction; Part One; Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Part Two; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7; Part Three; Chapter 8; Chapter 9; Chapter 10; Chapter 11; Part Four; Author's Note; Acknowledgments; Notes; Index; About the Author

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781620970522

162097052X

OCLC:

903693044