deep state
noun phrase

- a body of people, typically influential members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy

- organizations such as military, police, or political groups that are said to work secretly in order to protect particular interests and to rule a country without being elected

- an alleged secret network of especially nonelected government officials and sometimes private entities (as in the financial services and defense industries) operating extralegally to influence and enact government policy

Oxford Languages / The Cambridge Dictionary / Merriam-Webster

—
PHRASE ORIGIN

Originally published in September 2020, Ian Fitzgerald’s book “The Deep State: A History of Secret Agendas and Shadow Governments” introduced a new term into public consciousness and into the English language:

“Beneath the outward appearance of legitimate government and accountable officials there lurk hidden agendas, shadowy personalities and special interest groups seeking to seize control of the nation for their own ends. These ‘states within a state’, unfettered by legal norms and unworried by public opinion, are known as ‘deep states’.”

“In this fascinating account, Ian Fitzgerald examines what a deep state really is and how they have emerged in various places across the world and throughout history. Ranging from the police state of East Germany in the 1950s to the narco states of Latin America in the 1970s to the institutional corruption of 21st century Nigeria, he explores the many ways people have sought to seize the apparatus of power for themselves while remaining out of sight.”

“Now the subject of modern conspiracy theories the world over as a worrying trend toward unelected power emerges, this book is more timely than ever, and helps separate fact from fiction.”

—
KENNEDY MURDERED FOR NOT WEARING HAT?

JFK’s assassination prompted conspiracy theories ranging from the plausible (for example, that he had been killed by military contractors, who stood to lose tens of billions of dollars if he kept his vow to pull out of the Vietnam War) to the laughable. For example?...

According to one theory, Kennedy, who rarely wore hats, was murdered by hat makers (milliners) who hoped that Lyndon B. Johnson’s habitual hat-wearing would start a trend and boost their sales. Sales of hats did indeed increase after Johnson became president, just as sales of undershirts dropped after Clark Gable boldly appeared without one in the 1934 romantic comedy ‘It Happened One Night’.

—
SYNONYMS

- a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful

beguilement, cabal, caper, chicanery, collusion, complicity, complot, con game, cover-up, deceit, deception, dirty trick(s), double-dealing, fastie, fast one, fast shuffle, fit-up, flim-flam, golden circle, grand design, hanky-panky, inveiglement, jiggery-pokery, knavery, machination(s), maneuvering, masquerade, master plan, monkey business, monkeyshines, palace intrigue, perfidy, plot, pretense, put-up job, secret plan (scheme), set-up, sharp practice, shenanigan(s), skul(l)duggery, smoke-and-mirrors, snow job

—
SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“If you’re interested in conspiracy theories and practice, check out Ian Fitzgerald’s “THE DEEP STATE: A History of Secret Agendas and Shadow Governments”, it’s a great read.”

—
HERZLICHEN DANK to all readers helping me keep OWAD alive with single or monthly donations at:

https://donorbox.org/please-become-a-friend-of-owad-3

and

Paul Smith, IBAN: DE75 7316 0000 0002 5477 40