Lambert Strether — The Term “Deep State” in Focus: Usage Examples, Definition, and Phrasebook

Lambert assembles different views about the US "deep state."

In my view, the deep state is chiefly a bureaucratic structure that maintains the continuity of US policy across administrations and takes on a life of its own separate from the administration that it purportedly serves. 

Some would limit the deep state to the intelligence services comparable to the siloviki in Russia. This would include the 17 intelligence department in the US, e.g.,  NSA, CIA,DIA. 

Others would extend it to the top level non-intelligence government bureaucracy, called nomenklatura in Russia. For example, the top level bureaucracy of the US State Department called "the 7th floor" and "the shadow government," that incoming Secretary of State Rex Tillerson just fired. They would constitute "moles" in the Trump administration.

Others would extend it to the operational arm of the dominant faction of the ruling elite that maintains their position.. Even when out of favor in a particular administration, this operational arm works to maintain policy constants as a "fifth column," and it is planted "deeply" to ensure this. Presidents find it difficult to replace people in droves and some are protected by having government service jobs that were isolated from "the spoils system."

The outer level of the deep state is the support apparatus like think tanks, policy journals and operatives in the media that form the domestic propaganda arm of the deep state. For example, the innermost layers of the Council on Foreign Relation is part of the deep state, whereas the outer layers are comprised of experts that give the organization public credibility.

This is only a "conspiracy" in that like-minded people that can be relied upon are selected and they bring others along so that the system self-perpetuates. The revolving door is also operative, linking government and the private sector

The problem here is that a Weberian bureaucratic state is required to direct modern governments, but the state is subject to capture ideologically and politically through the bureaucracy.

Naked Capitalism
The Term “Deep State” in Focus: Usage Examples, Definition, and Phrasebook

Lambert Strether