Shadow Elite by Janine Wedel (2009)

1. Reviewed by Jonathan Young Shadow Eliteby Janine Wedel (2009)

2. Claims • “Shadow elites” play a key policy-making role in some areas • Changes in society and government have increased the chances for a shadow elite to control a policy area • Shadow elites go around the normal structures of bureaucratic control

3. Who are the Shadow Elite?

4. Other Key Ideas • Flexians are in, not of, organizations • Coincidences of interest • Reshaping bureaucracy • Power through access to information

5. Other Key Ideas • Focus is on executive branch activity, not writing legislation • Privatization of the functions of the state • Merging of state and private power • Might-be-state, might-be-private entities • Might-be-official, might-be-unofficial roles

6. Why is there an increase in “flex” activity? • Redesign of governing • Outsourcing • Deregulation • Rise of executive power • End of the Cold War • Advent of ever more complex technologies • Embrace of “truthiness”

7. Consequences • Private or mixed control over state resources • Contractors, rather than government officials, hold vital information • Policy is developed outside of government decision-making channels • Bureaucracy is unable to monitor or control the “shadow government”

8. Evidence • Social anthropologist • Studied Eastern Europe beginning in the 1980s • Interviews, news stories, and personal observation

9. Examples…Privatization in Russia • Harvard Institute for International Development received US AID money to support economic reforms • Small group of Russian officials and American consultants leading multiple commissions – a flex net • Shared economic and policy ideology • Harvard team controlled U.S. policy on economic reform aid

10. Privatization in Russia • Flex net in President’s office, drafting decrees • Diverged from US AID policy • NGOs headed by flex net members had power to make major privatization decisions • Privatization decisions benefitted those with ties to the flex net; did not result in broad benefits to ordinary Russians

11. The Neocon Core • Flex net centered around Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith • Ideology of American military supremacy and preemptive war • Positions in government and NGOs • Drafting and publicizing policy positions • Raising media attention • Lobbying members of Congress

12. The Neocon Core • Personalized policy making • Marginalized bureaucratic procedures • Independent intelligence assessments • Created their own bodies of expertise and influence • Increased number of political appointees with fewer bureaucrats • Information campaign – “truthiness”

13. The Neocon Core Flexnet

14. So, what can be done? • Stronger regulation • Increased openness • More oversight of contractors • Investigation by government, media and NGOs

15. Evaluation • This is a pretty specific phenomenon • Convincing examples, but hard to know how common flex nets are • Discomfort with changes from “the way things used to be”

16. The Bigger Policy Picture • How are policy decisions really made? • Flex activity can be used to pursue financial gain…but also ideologically motivated • Looks at the interaction between private interests and government activity • Private interests may be business interests or may be other interests

17. Questions & Discussion • I have a hard time knowing if there are other policy areas dominated by flex activity…can you think of any?