Understanding Secrecy, Upholding the Public Interest: National Security Whistleblowing, Civil Society and Support Networks

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When the AHRC research project began to investigate the long history of U.S. national security whistleblowing (AH/P00461X/1), the fate of Edward Snowden, who had revealed warrantless surveillance programmes, was uncertain. It anticipated he would not be the last whistleblower. Three years later Snowden's situation remains precarious while several other whistleblowers have emerged and been charged for disclosing national defense information. European whistleblowers, while generating fewer headlines, have also made disclosures and face prosecution. The twenty-first century has marked a new era of national security whistleblowing around the world, but our understanding of the phenomenon has not kept pace with these developments.This is also true for the whistleblowing advocacy organisations that provide the essential protection for individuals crossing the secrecy Rubicon to make disclosures in the public interest. The Follow-on Funding for Impact and Engagement looks to bring academic and advocacy groups into sustained dialogue to better understand the past, present, and future of national security whistleblowing. The activities explore how historical approaches can inform, assist, and enhance the work of third sector groups providing whistleblower support and protection today. In sharing research findings and best practises, this project addresses well-defined needs to expand the knowledge base, strengthen links with scholarship, and increase collaboration between organisations working in different national jurisdictions. In a practical sense, a historical perspective can assist advocates in their efforts to inform legal cases, shape legislation, propose reforms, and comprehend the stories behind today's unfolding headlines.The original research on U.S. national security whistleblowing uncovered a vast, diverse advocacy world. Furthermore, it extended beyond the United States. The proposed activities build on unforeseen impact opportunities to engage this wider whistleblowing advocacy community in the UK and Europe. The proposal seeks to share expertise and skills across national borders. Debates around whistleblowing and national security frequently concentrate on individual states and their respective legal frameworks, but there is a need to address themes that cut across national and regional divides. The questions facing advocates in the United States are similar to those facing counterparts in the UK and Europe. This project aims to bring those voices into conversation with one another and with scholars working on the subject. This is a particularly opportune moment for closer academic-advocacy collaboration. State prosecutions are on the rise. Whistleblower protection is a live political, legal, and social issue, with legislative bodies in the U.S., UK and Europe debating the adequacy of existing policies and mechanisms. Advocates have made progress in recent years but continue to confront powerful secrecy establishments and expansive national security states. A historical perspective is essential to understanding the present, but also exploring future protection strategies that go beyond legal justice matters to include the civic and social factors behind individuals speaking truth to power.