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Secrecy and the politics of selective disclosures: the US government’s intervention in Guatemala

Luca Trenta Orcid Logo, Kevin T Fahey Orcid Logo, Douglas B Atkinson Orcid Logo

Intelligence and National Security, Pages: 1 - 20

Swansea University Author: Luca Trenta Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1080/02684527.2023.2279317

Abstract

Recent scholarship debates the signaling function of secrecy and covertness. At the international level, covertness is used to achieve strategic objectives without risking escalation or openly violating international law. Domestically, secrecy is understood as method to pacify domestic constituencie...

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Published in: Intelligence and National Security
ISSN: 0268-4527 1743-9019
Published: Informa UK Limited 2023
Online Access: Check full text

URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa64841
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Abstract: Recent scholarship debates the signaling function of secrecy and covertness. At the international level, covertness is used to achieve strategic objectives without risking escalation or openly violating international law. Domestically, secrecy is understood as method to pacify domestic constituencies. These are typically understood as obstacles to the conduct of (covert) foreign policy. Building primarily on archival material, the analysis highlights the role of ‘selective disclosures’ of information regarding covert operations. The paper analyses the Eisenhower Administration’s 1954 intervention in Guatemala (PBSUCCESS). We find that the executive used disclosures – and not secrecy - to pacify hawkish domestic constituencies.
Keywords: Secrecy, covert action, selective disclosures, Cold War, Eisenhower administration, Guatemala, Congress, intelligence oversight
College: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
Funders: Swansea University
Start Page: 1
End Page: 20

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