Government Secrecy

Hardcover 74,99 € | £64.99 | $89.99 80,24 € (D) | 82,49 € (A) | CHF [1] 82,50 eBook 63,06 € | £51.99 | $69.99 63,06 € (D) | 63,06 € (A) | CHF [2] 66,00 Available from your library or springer.com/shop MyCopy [3] Provides the first systematic analysis of whistleblowing in the fields of legal and political philosophy Presents a comprehensive theory of whistleblowing, its scope and legitimacy Articulates an original understanding of the epistemic dimension of constitutional rights, and of the value of dissent Contributes to the debate on democratic theory, especially with regard to the risks of secrecy in democracy Whistleblowing is the public disclosure of information with the purpose of revealing wrongdoings and abuses of power that harm the public interest. This book presents a comprehensive theory of whistleblowing: it defines the concept, reconstructs its origins, discusses it within the current ethical debate, and elaborates a justification of unauthorized disclosures. Its normative proposal is based on three criteria of permissibility: the communicative constraints, the intent, and the public interest conditions. The book distinguishes between two forms of whistleblowing, civic and political, showing how they apply in the contexts of corruption and government secrecy. The book articulates a conception of public interest as a claim concerning the presumptive interest of the public. It argues that public interest is defined in opposition to corporate powers and its core content identified by the rights that are all-purposive for the distribution of social benefits. A crucial part of the proposal is dedicated to the impact of security policies and government secrecy on civil liberties. It argues that unrestrained secrecy limits the epistemic entitlement of citizens to know under which conditions their rights are limited by security policies and corporate interests.

King’s College London
14-15 May, 2015

In the wake of the Snowden revelations about the surveillance capabilities of intelligence agencies, this interdisciplinary symposium gathers experts to discuss the place and implications of secrecy in contemporary culture and politics.

Thursday 14th May
6.30-8.30
Opening Talk: Jamie Bartlett, Demos, Author of The Dark Net
Respondent, Zach Blas on the ‘Contra-Internet’
Edmond J. Safra Lecture Theatre, The Strand Campus, King’s College London
Free Registation at: https://secretsofdarknet.eventbrite.co.uk/

15 May: Symposium
Free registration at: https://politicsofsecrecy.eventbrite.co.uk/

9-9.15
Introduction: Secrecy’s Frame
Clare Birchall (King’s College London) & Matt Potolsky (University of Utah)

9.15-10.45
Roundtable 1: Between Opacity and Openness

Mark Fenster (College of Law, University of Florida)
(Secrecy and the Hypothetical State Archive)

Zach Blas (Artist, University of Buffalo)
(Informatic Opacity)

Mikkel Flyvverbom (Intercultural Communication and Management, Copenhagen Business School)
(Transparency and the Management of Visibilities)

Vian Bakir (Creative Studies and Media, Bangor University)
(Deceptive Organised Persuasive Communication: (a) Misdirection and (b) Secretly Altering Reality to Fit the Lie you want to Tell)

11.15-12.30
Roundtable 2: Aesthetics of the Secret

John Beck (Institute of Modern & Contemporary Culture, University of Westminster)
(Photography’s Open Secret)

Neal White (Artist, Bournemouth University)
(Secrecy and Art in Practice)

Clare Birchall (American Studies, King’s College London)
(Art “After” Snowden)

12.30-1.30
Lunch

1.30-3.00
Roundtable 3: Open Secrets

Jack Bratich (Communication and Information, Rutgers University)
(Spectacular Secrecy and the Public Secret Sphere: Rumsfeld, Anonymous, and Snowden)

Deme Kasimis (Political Science, Yale University)
(Passing as Open Secrecy: Migrants and the Performance of Citizenship in Classical Greek Thought)

Adam Piette (English, Sheffield University)
(The Open Secret of Nuclear Waste)

Matt Potolsky (English, University of Utah)
(Beyond Fiction: The NSA and Representation)

3.30-4.45
Roundtable 4: Covert Spheres

Timothy Melley (English, Miami University)
(The Democratic Security State: Operating Between Secrecy and Publicity)

Øyvind Vågnes (Visual Culture, University of Copenhagen)
(Drone Warfare and the Language of Precision)

Hugh Urban (Comparative Studies, Ohio State)
(The Silent Brotherhood: Secrecy, Violence, and Surveillance from the Brüder Schweigen to the War on Terror)

5.00-5.30
Summary: Secrecy’s Future