A crisis of confidentiality: a review of lords of secrecy by Scott Horton.

• Author: Santa-Wood, Bebe
• Position: Book review

The greatest threat to American democracy may be something completely intangible. In Lords of Secrecy, attorney and journalist Scott Horton makes the compelling case that the growth of secrecy within the U.S. government since the Cold War has unequivocally changed the landscape of democracy, power, and decisionmaking in the United States. (1) The clandestine nature of this subject makes it a challenging topic to break down, but Horton delves into it with detailed analyses. As per his account, the language the U.S. government uses to defend their use of secrecy is deeply coded, mired in jargon and arguments designed to deflect criticism. Horton deftly teases apart the topic, and deploys thrilling examples demonstrating how access to information is endangered.

The "lords of secrecy," as Horton calls them, are security and policy elites in positions of power within the Pentagon, CIA, FBI, NSA, and Department of Homeland Security who treat secrecy as a tool to assert greater authority and power within their own institutions, and encroach on the overall direction of American foreign policy.

Utilizing the changing technology of warfare, these elites have slowly made themselves impervious to critique or consequences. The decisions they make have a deep impact, whether it is kick-starting U.S. military campaigns without vetting public reaction, the growing invasive nature of homeland security, or even the swift retribution for anyone who dares to question them. Such an atmosphere of secrecy erodes the checks and balances within the democratic system. Horton begins his argument by looking at classical Athenian and early American democracy, arguing transparency and access to information are foundations of modern democracy. This can feel reductionist at times, but through historical frames, Horton reminds us that our current culture of secrecy is a modern invention and one already negatively impacting American democracy. For example, Horton points out the preoccupation with surveillance and secrecy-focused technologies paint democracy as something that weakens the state to enemies, both real and imagined. In contrast, Athenian democracy, as Horton argues, was focused on people banding together in the name of "collective security," creating a political climate where people work together openly on common goals of security.

To further emphasize this, Horton uses the work of sociologists like Max Weber and George Simmel to examine the extent to which...