Articles: Detecting State Crimes against Democracy

A rather odd little article, in thrall to conspiracy theories – and casually accusing Richard Nixon of being behind the assassinations of both John F. and Robert Kennedy: Lance deHaven-Smith, "When Political Crimes Are Inside Jobs: Detecting State Crimes against Democracy" ("Administrative Theory & Praxis", 28 [3], September 2006: pp. 330-55):

http://mesharpe.metapress.com/link.asp?id=a364x632353048qh

Abstract: "Public administration theory and practice tend to overlook the possibility of state political criminality in liberal democracies. This article proposes a policy science to detect state crimes against democracy (SCADs), using social and political theory to understand when, why, how, and by whom such crimes are likely to be committed. After defining SCADs and differentiating them from other types of political crimes, the article analyzes SCADs in terms of antidemocratic tendencies posited by theories of liberal democracy. SCADs are traced to specific institutional objectives by analyzing patterns in SCAD targets, timing, and modus operandi. The role played by career civil servants in exposing government crimes and deceptions suggests that professional public administrators are a critical line of defense against the criminalization of the state."

Some excerpts: "Public administration scholars and practitioners have seldom considered the possibility that agencies or whole branches of government might be corrupted by top leaders or subverted for illegal purposes by strategically placed insiders. [...] [They] do not envision organized efforts by public officials to undermine democracy and popular control of government. [...] SCADs include not only election tampering, vote fraud, government graft, political assassinations, and similar crimes when they are initiated by public officials, but also more subtle violations of democratic processes and prerequisites. [...]

"In the vortex between aggressive military interests and a frightened, uninformed mass public, the worst features of presidents and of presidential politics can be unleashed. Paranoia and impulsivity can be reinforced by the pressures of the office; intelligence agencies can be pressured to distort their findings; elite megalomania can resonate with mass ethnocentricity, homophobia, and authoritarianism; and critics of military actions can end up being targeted as enemies of the state. [...]

"However, nothing that is currently known about SCADs precludes the possibility that SCAD networks are much more widely dispersed, involving either a more or less stable group of mid-rank professionals intent on protecting certain values (anticommunism, white supremacy, Christianity, etc.), or temporary combinations of opportunistic officials in the middle ranks who come together briefly to achieve limited objectives (financial gain, career advancement, inter-institutional advantages, etc.). It is also possible that multiple networks coexist and cooperate or compete."

As if it wasn't surprising enough that this one passed peer review, a follow-up article appeared last year: Lance deHaven-Smith and Matthew T. Witt, "Preventing State Crimes Against Democracy"
("Administration & Society", 41 [5], September 2009: pp. 527-50):

http://aas.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/5/527

Abstract: "This article analyzes U.S. vulnerabilities to state crimes against democracy (SCADs). SCADs are actions or inactions by government insiders intended to manipulate democratic processes and undermine popular sovereignty. Watergate and Iran-Contra are well-known examples of SCADs involving top officials. SCADs in high office are difficult to detect and successfully prosecute because they are usually complex and compartmentalized; investigations are often compromised by conflicts of interests; and powerful norms discourage speculation about corruption in high office. However, liberal democracies can reduce their vulnerability to state political criminality by identifying vulnerabilities proactively and instituting policies for SCAD detection and prevention."

I haven't been able to access the latter article yet.

Lance deHaven-Smith is a Professor in the Reubin O'D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University.

Matthew T. Witt is Associate Professor of Public Administration at the University of La Verne.