Gabrielle Lee Assignment Week 6
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INTL 409
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Political Science
Date
Dec 6, 2023
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Uploaded by MasterAardvarkPerson481
Name: Gabrielle Lee
IRLS 200 I002
Date: March 20, 2022
Instructor: Gabriela Stelcikova
Does the American Government have a right to keep secrets?
While this topic brings up much debate the easiest way to answer this question is to first determine the
reasoning behind governmental secrecy. Many cases tend to lean for the negative such as the reason
only being to save face or to hide corruption. The only cases where it is acceptable and even potentially
necessary is in the interest of national security.
Schwarz, Frederick A. O.
Democracy in the Dark: The Seduction of Government Secrecy
. New York:
New Press, The, 2012.
This source dives into the background of the way the American public have been caught up in the argument
about how to protect the secrets of the country. Instead of focusing on the dangers of disclosure, it should
consider the issues with the secrecy system. Too much is kept secret to protect America from embarrassment
and illegal conduct.
Higdon, Nolan. “Matthew Potolsky’s The National Security Sublime: On the Aesthetics of Government
Secrecy.”
Secrecy and Society
2, no. 2 (2021).
Matthew Potolsky's The National Security Sublime provides a comprehensive analysis of the various facets of
national security. It also explores the influence artists have on the public's perception of national security. The
book highlights the false sense of awareness Americans have about government secrecy. This contributes to
the development of new research related to national security.
Edgar, Timothy H.
Beyond Snowden: Privacy, Mass Surveillance, and the Struggle to Reform the NSA
. La
Vergne: Brookings Institution Press, 2017.
This source discusses how since Edward Snowden revealed the details of these programs in 2013, the Obama
administration has taken necessary steps to safeguard the public's privacy and civil liberties. However,
according to Timothy Edgar, a civil liberties activist, the NSA's programs are very different from other
surveillance methods. He believes that in order to properly implement mass surveillance programs, the
government should first make them accountable and transparent. Edgar also pointed out that the rules
designed to prevent the NSA and other agencies from spying on Americans are inadequate for this century.
Despite the various reforms adopted by the Obama administration, Edgar believes that the government still
has a long way to go in protecting the privacy of the American people. In his book, Edgar explains how the
government can still maintain its vital intelligence capabilities while protecting the rights of individuals. If the
US can lead the world in implementing mass surveillance reforms, it will send a positive message to other
nations that are prone to terrorist activities.
Collingsworth, Jonathon W.
The State Secrets Privilege and Other Limits on Classified Information
.
Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2010.
This source discusses the state secrets privilege allowing the government to prevent the release of
information in court if it has a reasonable fear that the disclosure would harm national security. This privilege
has been used by the Bush and Obama administrations to prevent the release of information related to the
war on terror.
Cliffe, L, M Ramsay, and D Bartlett.
The Politics of Lying: Implications for Democracy
. London: Palgrave
Macmillan UK, 2000.
This book aims to provide a synthesis of what is a pervasive phenomenon in politics and to provide a
theoretical framework for examining its significance to the working of democracy.
Jacob Batchelor. “Top Secret America.”
University Wire
. Carlsbad: Uloop, Inc, 2010.
In this article, former Lieutenant General John Vines noted that there is no central authority overseeing the
various activities of the various security agencies making it impossible to evaluate whether the various
agencies are making us safer. The article also pointed out that the rush to beef up the intelligence system
following the 9/11 attack undermines the concept of cooperation. In 2009, a major terrorist attack on the US
Army killed 13 people and wounded another 28 others.
Maret, Susan.
Government Secrecy
. 1st ed. Bingley, U.K: Emerald Group Pub. Ltd., 2011.
Government secrecy is often regarded as an affront to the rights of individuals to know and participate in
democracy. It is also connected to broader questions about the functioning of democratic systems. The
secrecy of government information is often associated with the rise of conspiracy theories. This could be due
to the varying degrees of openness that governments provide.
Boa, Krista. “Roberts, Alasdair. 2006. Blacked Out: Government Secrecy in the Information Age. Cambridge,
MA: Cambridge University Press.”
Surveillance & society
6, no. 3 (2009): 329–330.
In Blacked Out, Alasdair Roberts talks about the increasing number of accesses to information legislation
enacted during the 1990s. He is a leading scholar in this field and a long-term advocate for the right to know.
Through a survey of the victories achieved by the right-to-know movement globally, Roberts traces the
evolution of access legislation. As of 2004, there are now 59 countries with access legislation. Roberts talks
about the various advantages of having a right to know, such as exposing government abuses and corruption
in Thailand, Uganda, and India.
Each of the above sources discusses various different matters that both support and condemn the various
reasons governing bodies choose secrecy over honesty. Also included are discussions on the laws that have
been implemented to avoid corruption within the agencies meant to protect and serve the American people.
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