Blowing the Whistle: U.S. National Security, Whistleblowing and the Hidden History of Secrecy and Power

2013年5月，美国国家安全局前合同工爱德华·斯诺登因泄露美国政府全球监控项目的细节而登上全球头条。斯诺登并不是第一个以公共利益的名义发布机密信息的人。从内战到21世纪的冲突，了解国家秘密事务的个人暴露了美国的国家安全能力和行动。尽管“告密”这个词在今天已经广为人知，但“告密”这个丰富的传统仍然鲜为人知。这个项目探索了美国国家安全告密的悠久历史及其在世界各地的影响。研究追溯了从19世纪中期到现在的告密起源和演变。它将按时间和主题组织起来，分析国家安全告密的三个时代：1)19世纪60年代至20世纪60年代；2)1970年“繁荣”时期；3)80年代至今。具有讽刺意味的是，正是美国政府发起了对举报人的最早保护，当时美国在内战期间通过了法律，保护向政府报告欺诈性军事合同的“亲属”。在接下来的一个世纪里，随着美国崛起为全球强国，政府内部的各种个人利用公开披露的信息来挑战美国的外国干预，并揭露国家在没有足够监督的情况下保守官方机密、秘密行动、进行监控和运作的能力迅速增长。一个关键的转折点出现在20世纪70年代，当时举报人成为一个流行的术语和概念。国家安全机构内部的知名告密者公开反对一系列机密政策和计划。在20世纪最后20年和21世纪初，随着举报人变得普遍，美国政府通过了里程碑式的立法，以保护一些举报人，同时通过审查、旅行管制和其他措施让其他人保持沉默。尽管如此，告密者仍在继续直言不讳。斯诺登是最新一位揭露隐藏的国家权力和秘密文化的人。历史表明，他不会是最后一个。通过采用历史的视角，该项目试图超越通常将举报人描述为叛徒或英雄的做法。这些术语鼓励一种简单化、政治化的框架，这既阻碍了学术研究，也阻碍了公共辩论。这项研究探索了随着时间的推移影响举报人的多种因素，分析了将国家安全机密泄露到公共领域的动机和限制。除了将举报人的行为与背景联系起来外，该项目还调查了政府和公众如何应对这一现象。特别是，跨国倡导团体、律师、记者和全球民间社会的努力有助于促进国家安全披露。这项研究考察了告密的国际和跨国层面，考虑了外国政府的反应及其对它们与美国关系的影响。该项目将汇集一个跨学科的学者小组，提供第一个全面的告密历史。它将利用档案研究和口述历史的混合，但用来自法律、社会学和文化研究的解释性方法来增强历史方法。此外，国际研究团队将在整个赠款过程中与学术界以外的团体合作，特别是举报人倡导团体、非政府组织和记者。一个核心目标是与参与当前关于举报人立法的辩论的行为者接触。最后，研究成果将通过会议和会谈与英国和美国的公众分享。

In May 2013, former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden made headlines across the globe when he leaked details of the US government's global surveillance programs. Snowden was not the first to release classified information in the name of public interest. From the Civil War to the conflicts of the twenty-first century, individuals with knowledge of the secret affairs of the state have exposed U.S. national security capabilities and actions. Although a widely recognised term today, the rich tradition of 'blowing the whistle' remains largely unknown. This project explores the long history of national security whistleblowing in the U.S. and its impact around the world.The research traces the origins and evolution of whistleblowing from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Organised chronologically and thematically, it will analyse three eras of national security whistleblowing: 1) 1860s to 1960s; 2) the 1970 'boom' period; 3) 1980s to present. Ironically, it was the U.S. government that initiated some of the earliest protections for whistleblowers when the Union passed laws during the Civil War to protect 'relators' who reported fraudulent military contracts to the government. Over the next century, as the United States emerged as a global power, a variety of individuals within the government used public disclosures to challenge America's foreign interventions and expose the state's rapidly growing capacity to keep official secrets, operate covertly, conduct surveillance, and function without adequate oversight. A crucial turning point came in the 1970s as whistleblowing emerged as a popular term and concept. Prominent whistleblowers inside the national security establishment spoke out against a wide range of classified policies and programmes. During the final two decades of the twentieth century and early part of the twenty-first century, as whistleblowing became widespread, the U.S. government passed landmark legislation to protect some whistleblowers while simultaneously silencing others through censorship, travel control, and other measures. Whistleblowers have nonetheless continued to speak out. Snowden was the latest to expose the hidden hand of state power and cultures of secrecy. History suggests he will not be the last. By adopting a historical lens, the project seeks to move beyond the common characterisation of whistleblowers as either traitors or heroes. These terms encourage a reductive, politicised framework that hinders both scholarship and public debate. The research explores the multiple factors influencing whistleblowers over time, analysing the motives for and limits to releasing national security secrets into the public domain.In addition to contextualizing the actions of whistleblowers, the project examines how governments and the public have responded to this phenomenon. In particular, the efforts of transnational advocacy groups, lawyers, journalists and global civil society have been instrumental to fostering national security disclosures. Examining the international and transnational dimension to whistleblowing, the research considers the response of foreign governments and the ramifications for their relations with the United States.The project will bring together an interdisciplinary group of scholars to provide the first comprehensive history of whistleblowing. It will utilise a mixture of archival research and oral histories, but augment historical methodologies with interpretive approaches from legal, sociological, and cultural studies. Furthermore, the international research team will collaborate with groups outside of academia, especially whistleblower advocacy groups, non-governmental organisations, and journalists throughout the grant. A core objective is to engage with actors involved in current debates about whistleblower legislation. Finally, research findings will be shared with the general public in both the U.K. and U.S. through conferences and talks.