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Secrets and Leaks : The Dilemma of State Secrecy / Rahul Sagar.

By: Contributor(s): Material type: TextTextPublisher: Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2016]Copyright date: ©2016Description: 1 online resource (304 p.)Content type:
Media type:
Carrier type:
ISBN:
  • 9780691168180
  • 9781400880850
Subject(s): DDC classification:
  • 352.379 23
LOC classification:
  • JF1525.S4 S48 2017
Other classification:
  • online - DeGruyter
Online resources: Available additional physical forms:
  • Issued also in print.
Contents:
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface to the Paperback Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Who Watches the Watchers? -- Chapter 1. The Problem: How to Regulate State Secrecy? -- Chapter 2. Should We Rely on Judges? Transparency and the Problem of Judicial Deference -- Chapter 3. Should We Rely on Congress? Oversight and the Problem of Executive Privilege -- Chapter 4. Should the Law Condone Unauthorized Disclosures? Fire Alarms and the Problem of Legitimacy -- Chapter 5. Should We Rely on Whistleblowers? Disobedience and the Problem of Retaliation -- Chapter 6. Should We Trust Leakers? Anonymous Sources and the Problem of Regulation -- Conclusion. Bitter Medicine -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index
Summary: Secrets and Leaks examines the complex relationships among executive power, national security, and secrecy. State secrecy is vital for national security, but it can also be used to conceal wrongdoing. How then can we ensure that this power is used responsibly? Typically, the onus is put on lawmakers and judges, who are expected to oversee the executive. Yet because these actors lack access to the relevant information and the ability to determine the harm likely to be caused by its disclosure, they often defer to the executive's claims about the need for secrecy. As a result, potential abuses are more often exposed by unauthorized disclosures published in the press. But should such disclosures, which violate the law, be condoned? Drawing on several cases, Rahul Sagar argues that though whistleblowing can be morally justified, the fear of retaliation usually prompts officials to act anonymously--that is, to "leak" information. As a result, it becomes difficult for the public to discern when an unauthorized disclosure is intended to further partisan interests. Because such disclosures are the only credible means of checking the executive, Sagar writes, they must be tolerated, and, at times, even celebrated. However, the public should treat such disclosures skeptically and subject irresponsible journalism to concerted criticism.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number URL Status Notes Barcode
eBook eBook Biblioteca "Angelicum" Pont. Univ. S.Tommaso d'Aquino Nuvola online online - DeGruyter (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Online access Not for loan (Accesso limitato) Accesso per gli utenti autorizzati / Access for authorized users (dgr)9781400880850

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Preface to the Paperback Edition -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction. Who Watches the Watchers? -- Chapter 1. The Problem: How to Regulate State Secrecy? -- Chapter 2. Should We Rely on Judges? Transparency and the Problem of Judicial Deference -- Chapter 3. Should We Rely on Congress? Oversight and the Problem of Executive Privilege -- Chapter 4. Should the Law Condone Unauthorized Disclosures? Fire Alarms and the Problem of Legitimacy -- Chapter 5. Should We Rely on Whistleblowers? Disobedience and the Problem of Retaliation -- Chapter 6. Should We Trust Leakers? Anonymous Sources and the Problem of Regulation -- Conclusion. Bitter Medicine -- Notes -- Selected Bibliography -- Index

restricted access online access with authorization star

http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_16ec

Secrets and Leaks examines the complex relationships among executive power, national security, and secrecy. State secrecy is vital for national security, but it can also be used to conceal wrongdoing. How then can we ensure that this power is used responsibly? Typically, the onus is put on lawmakers and judges, who are expected to oversee the executive. Yet because these actors lack access to the relevant information and the ability to determine the harm likely to be caused by its disclosure, they often defer to the executive's claims about the need for secrecy. As a result, potential abuses are more often exposed by unauthorized disclosures published in the press. But should such disclosures, which violate the law, be condoned? Drawing on several cases, Rahul Sagar argues that though whistleblowing can be morally justified, the fear of retaliation usually prompts officials to act anonymously--that is, to "leak" information. As a result, it becomes difficult for the public to discern when an unauthorized disclosure is intended to further partisan interests. Because such disclosures are the only credible means of checking the executive, Sagar writes, they must be tolerated, and, at times, even celebrated. However, the public should treat such disclosures skeptically and subject irresponsible journalism to concerted criticism.

Issued also in print.

Mode of access: Internet via World Wide Web.

In English.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 30. Aug 2021)