Bill Blunden — Is There a “Triple Government” at Work?

Another view of deep politics, the deep state, clandestine services, plutonomy, and state capture.

“Double government.” Walter Bagehot coined the term in his 1867 book, The English Constitution. He hypothesized that British government had split into two separate layers. On the outer surface were high-profile “extrinsic” institutions such as the House of Lords, which gave the appearance of being in charge. On the inside were less conspicuous organs of government, such as the House of Commons, that actually ran the show. 

Expanding upon Bagehot’s ideas is Michael J. Glennon, a professor of international law at Tufts University. Glennon has written “National Security and Double Government“, a book which argues that a similar double government has emerged in U.S. politics.
Regarding national security, Glennon contends that “judicial review is negligible, congressional oversight dysfunctional, and presidential control nominal.”[i] Instead, he says, the actual decision-making is performed by “several hundred executive officials who manage the military, intelligence, diplomatic, and law enforcement agencies”[ii] that are “slowly tightening centralized power, growing and evolving organically beyond public view.” [iii] (Read WhoWhatWhy’s first take on Glennon here)
But are elected officials such as the President truly hostages to murky, unseen elements within government? 

Congressional investigations, leaked classified documents, and statements by former intelligence officers paint a completely different picture. Far from being out of control, the public record indicates that security services are obedient arms of the executive. And, further up the chain of command, the executive itself is responsive to profound sources of private influence residing outside of government.…

While most institutions suffer from some form of dysfunction, it’s clear that both the Pentagon and the American intelligence community largely do what they’re told by POTUS. In the absence of overwhelming public sentiment, the President mainly attends to the needs of various corporate factions which have the ability to provide incentives to political leadership. These business interests transmit their mandates to the political class through a structural layer of intermediaries that surround the visible state, the “Deep State” first described by Peter Dale Scott. 

In other words, the remarkable continuity of national security policy isn’t entirely a matter of double government; equally, it is a matter of state capture by deep sources of wealth and power outside of government.

Who, What, Why
Is There a “Triple Government” at Work?
Bill Blunden