Deep state

A deep state is a network of individuals and groups which are in de facto charge of a national government, and which use the democratically elected government as a front, providing plausible deniability and allowing covert control. On matters of deep political importance, the public machinery of government is routinely subverted on the say so of deep politicians.

Deep state
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The deep state, state within a state, shadow government, permanent state or permanent government is a fluid network of individuals with de facto control of a national government. Many "democratically elected" governments work as fronts, allowing the deep state to operate in secret while providing a level of plausible deniability. On matters of deep political importance, the public machinery of government is routinely subverted by agents of the deep state.

Not to be confused with the Supranational Deep State, a.k.a. The Deep State, the informal alliance of deep state groups.

The deep state (loosely synonymous with the shadow government, or more rarely permanent government or permanent state) is in contrast to the public structures which appear to be directing individual nation states. It is an intensely secretive, informal, fluid network of deep politicians whose deep state milieux effectively amplify their influence over national governments.

Etymology and usage

The phrase "deep state" derives from the Turkish "derin devlet". It emerged after the 1996 Susurluk car crash unmasked the Turkish deep state. Back in the 2000s and early 2010s, it was used by only a few commentators, sometimes within quotation marks. It experienced a surge of use in 2017, often not in keeping with the meaning attributed by the diplomat who coined the phrase.

Official Narrative

The 1996 Susurluk car crash, the deep event which lead to the coining of the phrase "deep state".

The official narrative of deep states used to be that they were "conspiracy theory". This position was modified in the last few years to the claim that they don't exist here. In 2013 the New York Times defined the deep state as "a hard-to-perceive level of government or super-control that exists regardless of elections and that may thwart popular movements or radical change. Some have said that Egypt is being manipulated by its deep state." Since the Times (like the rest of the commercially-controlled media) is more or less a under the control of the deep state, such a mention is very interesting. The implication of the second half of their definition is clear:- countries other than Egypt are not being manipulated by a deep state. A 2012 blog post at the World Bank is clearer still:- "You think your country has undergone a transition to democracy... You realize that there are powerful elite formations bequeathed by years, even decades, of authoritarian rule still able to block progressive change and protect their interests." The statement that "deep states that exist in many youngish ‘democracies’" avoids discussion of nation states which have long claimed to be democracies.. A 2013 book entitled "Deep State" would soften the term, making no mention of false flag attacks and bemoaning 9-11 "conspiracy theorists".

2017 Popularisation

Full article: Deep state/2017 Popularisation

The phrase "deep state" experienced a huge rise in usage after the election of Donald Trump. In March 2017, in particular, corporate media outlets all seemed to be offering contradictory ideas about what the term might mean, some denying its applicability to the US (arguing that "There is no American Deep State... it just looks like there is") others contradicting the original meaning by suggesting it was politically partisan. This is an interesting development given the mound of evidence that the deep state controls corporate media.

Democratic façade

Since the early 19th and particularly in the 20th century, deep states in many nation states have worked to maintain a cover of party politics, focusing on personalities of individual politicians or issue of identity politics.

“Although elected representatives are supposed to be the ruling power we see them coming and going while the true powers in our lives — political parties, bureaucracies, business corporations, the media, institutions of law and justice, quangos, international treaty agreements, financial systems, regulators etcetera — get on with business.”
Ivo Mosley (2013) 

This façade was by and large successful at hiding the real business of deep politics from public scrutiny. In the 21st century, in spite of massive consolidation of corporate media, this veil is proving increasingly thin as deep state milieux, formerly only the stuff of rumour, are now increasingly well documented with photos, videos and leaked documents all online.

Organisation

The core of deep state groups and deep state milieu could be summarised by Dwight Eisenhower's "Military-industrial-congressional complex", although intelligence agencies are essential to their functioning. They are made up of:

• The leadership of intelligence agencies;
• Deep politicians, i.e. individuals who set up deep state milieux and who broker agreements between other members of the deep state.
• Some senior or long-standing non-elected officials within government (e.g. top civil servants);
• Selected individuals with effective control of key commercial, military and/or criminal groups in:
  • The "defence" and "counter-terrorism" industries;
  • The financial sector;
  • Corporate media

Supranational Nature

Full article: Supranational Deep State

Deep states often evolved as secret cabals to control particular nation states. However, although originating in particular localities, the corruption of governments has globalised as have other enterprises, resulting in an ever wider interlocking of deep state factions in the 21^st century. A 2010 paper by Peter Dale Scott refers to "A Supranational Deep State", noting how their international integration effectively allows deep states to evade even the limited control national governments had in the early 20^th century. Post 9-11, most deep state groups are members of an informal alliance known on this website as the Supranational Deep State. The need for secrecy has lead to extreme compartmentalisation, promotes infighting and hampers its effective control any of the deep state groups which make it up, possibly driving the 2020 lurch towards a global control grid with strict technological controls on freedom of speech and freedom of movement.

Deep state milieux

Full article: Deep state milieu

The 2016 Washington DC meeting of Le Cercle, a highly secret deep state milieux started in the early 1950s

Deep state milieux, such as the (formerly very secret) Bilderberg group are organs of the deep state, places where deep state operatives can meet up, away from public scrutiny, and make plans. This is not to say that all visitors to such groups are members of, or even cognisant of, deep state operations; such groups also provide a place where potential members can be subject to evaluation — 1897 of the 2920 visitors to the Bilderberg only visited once.

Fluid nature

Power relations between deep politicians remain fluid, so deep states should not be be seen as alternative power structures to the visible organisational structures which they dominate. Relationships between Mafia families offer a suitable parallel, combining an often uneasy cooperation with occasional violent and sudden change. All deep state groups share share a common interest in preventing exposure of the real goings on behind the facade of electoral politics, so even violently opposed factions can cooperate to hide the true nature of deep events.

Activities

In 1977, deep state operative Edwin Wilson sold about 20,000 kg of plastic explosives to Libya, together with training in bomb making from US green berets. The report of the 1986 Bilderberg charged that "Libya is the principal sponsor of terrorism. It finances terrorist acts, it trains terrorist groups, it supplies arms, ammunition, passports and other documents to terrorists, and it uses its embassies, so-called peoples' bureaus, as weapons storehouses and sanctuaries for terrorists. Recently, Libya has been escalating its involvement in terrorism."

Deep states are probably dominated by psychopaths and sociopaths. To preserve their power, they must not only stay in the shadows, but frustrate radical and progressive social change. Control of corporate media is essential to the effective operation of the deep state. In the US this is effected through deep state control of the CIA, which has huge influence over big media. With the apparatus of nation states under their control, their subterfuges can be elaborate and complex. Like Mafia families, deep state groups have a common interest in hiding their existence at all costs, leading to cooperation in times of crisis. As a Turkish cartoon put it in 1997 "Deep state protects its own."

Deep Politics

Full article: Deep Politics

"Deep Politics" is a term coined by Peter Dale Scott to describe the activities and issues of importance to the agents of the deep state. These may be only indirectly seen as connected to "politics"; in most countries of the world today, party politics is more or less used as a veneer to obscure the real considerations. In contrast to multiple levels of publicly aired political considerations, deep political motives are sometimes much simpler; Charlotte Denett, for example, suggests that the deep politics of WW1 and WW2 actually centered on control of the Middle East's resources of oil and natural gas.

Deep Events

Full article: Deep Events

Deep Events are the footprints of the deep state. Peter Dale Scott specifies 3 levels:

1. Low level deep events, typically unnoticed at the time, are discovered only as part of later investigations.
2. Mid level deep events, typically accompanied by a set of cover stories to obscure their deep political significance.
3. Structural deep events, rare and ambitious, which to try to change entire societies, sometimes without them even knowing it.

The defining structural deep events of the late 20^th century was the JFK Assassination, a coup d'etat that radically changed the US political scene. which the establishment presented it to US citizens as the work of a "lone nut".

The defining structural deep event of the 21^st century was the 9/11 attacks, which the perpetual war known as the "War on Terror". Details such as Larry Silverstein's multi-billion dollar windfall and the insider trading are widely known, but evidence is accumulating that these were but minor parts of much larger suite of financial frauds carried out by deep political insiders who capitalised on the opportunity.

Cultural references

The second series of Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy concludes with the protagonists having finally located the ruler of the universe (a.k.a. the "man in the shack") who makes the real decisions that are ascribed to the President of The Galaxy. The posthumously produced series three of the radio series (produced after Adams' death) diffuses this plot by suggesting that this was a psychotic episode. In the (later) radio adaptation Trillian describes the idea of the secret ruler of the universe as a "conspiracy theory".

 

Examples

Page name	Description
Ancient Rome/Deep state	The Ancient Roman Deep State.
Australia/Deep state	The Australian deep state may be closely controlled from London/Washington, and used as a testground for emerging social control legislation.
Belgium/Deep state	The Belgian Deep state
Canada/Deep state	The Canadian Deep state
Denmark/Deep state	The Danish deep state
Europe/Deep state	As a highly secretive, long established deep state milieu, Le Cercle, has been active Europe wide in political subversion.
France/Deep state	The French deep state
Germany/Deep state	The German deep state was largely rebooted by the US deep state after the German defeat in WW2.
Greece/Deep state	The Greek deep state
Israel/Deep state
Italy/Deep state	The Italian deep state, post-WW II, centered on the Operation Gladio network run through NATO and heavily influenced by the CIA and MI6.
Japan/Deep state	The Japanese deep state was reportedly rebooted by the US deep state after the Japanese defeat in WW2.
Norway/Deep state	The Norwegian Deep state, which has operated through the Norwegian Shipowners' Association, controls the Nobel Peace Prize.
Poland/Deep state	The Polish deep state
Romania/Deep state	The Romanian deep state
Russia/Deep state	The Russian Deep State.
SDS	Since the 1970s, formerly separate deep states have integrated and now routinely conspire to subvert governments and international organisations. The collective effort to cover-up 9/11 saw this emerging supergroup fuse into a single Supranational Deep State, one with direct control over governments, central banks and global trafficking of drugs, weapons, people etc. Its reliance on deception, however, continues to make its long term prospects far from certain.
Serbia/Deep state	The Serbian deep state
South Africa/Deep state	The South African deep state hosted many meetings of Le Cercle.
South Korea/Deep state	The South Korean Deep state was partially exposed after the Korean National Intelligence Service was engaged in vote rigging and using trolls to try to get Park Geun-hye elected.
Spain/Deep state	The Spanish deep state
Sweden/Deep state	The Swedish deep state
Turkey/Deep state	'Derin devlet' is a deep state network based in Turkey. Repeated indiscretions resulted in its partial exposure, leading to the English phrase 'deep state' to refer to the phenomenon of a 'state-within-a-state or 'shadow government'.
UK/Deep state	The British empire has long been influenced by various mostly unseen forces. These are being increasingly exposed in the 21st century. After WWI, the UK deep state increasingly came under the influence of the US deep state.
US/Deep state	The US deep state goes back centuries, but the modern form stems from a 1963 coup which fused an alliance into a single coherent Cabal. Under the leadership of George H. W. Bush after the Watergate coup, the group became centered on the Bush family. It has been aggressively waging a "War On Terror" since 9-11 quickened the supranational deep state. In recent years it has lacked clear leadership and suffered leaks, infighting, short-termism & confusion about handling its increasingly public profile.

 

Related Quotations

Page	Quote	Author	Date
Bureaucracy	“Having worked briefly in the Canadian bureaucracy, I have observed that bureaucratic debate where power is involved tends to favor paranoid or worst-case analyses, especially those that justify budget and bureaucratic growth. Today's bureaucratic paranoia has indeed been institutionalized by what has been popularized as Vice President Cheney's 1% doctrine:- Even if there is just a 1% of the unimaginable coming due, act as if it is a certainty. It's not about our analysis, as Cheney said, it's about our response. Justified or not, fact based or not, our response is what matters. As to evidence, the bar was set so low that the word itself almost didn't apply. If there was even a 1% chance of terrorists getting a weapon of mass destruction, the United States must act now as if it were a certainty. This doctrine is a license for untrammeled expansion of the secret deep state.”	Peter Dale Scott
Deep state/2017 Popularisation	“Though the deep state is sometimes discussed as a shadowy conspiracy, it helps to think of it instead as a political conflict between a nation’s leader and its governing institutions.”		16 February 2017
Euan Grant	“I have the responsibility for increasing awareness of Russian, Russian speaking and Russian proxies organised crime links ith [sic.] these countries [sic.] “Deep States” nexus of political, senior bureaucracy, military and military industrial complex, big business and, of course, security and intelligence services. We prefer the term “ strategic organised crime” and believe it is not capable of being adequately deterred by conventional criminal justice procedures.”	Euan Grant	June 2018
Malcolm Muggeridge	“In the eyes of posterity it will inevitably seem that, in safeguarding our freedom, we destroyed it. The vast clandestine apparatus we built up to prove our enemies' resources and intentions only served in the end to confuse our own purposes; that practice of deceiving others for the good of the state led infallibly to our deceiving ourselves; and that vast army of clandestine personnel built up to execute these purposes were soon caught up in the web of their own sick fantasies, with disastrous consequences for them and us.”	Malcolm Muggeridge	May 1966
Peggy Noonan	“I have come to wonder if we don’t have what amounts to a deep state within the outer state in the U.S. — a deep state consisting of our intelligence and security agencies, which are so vast and far-flung in their efforts that they themselves don’t fully know who’s in charge and what everyone else is doing.”	Peggy Noonan	28 October 2013
Michael Parenti	“When change threatens to rule, then the rules are changed.”	Michael Parenti
Theodore Roosevelt	“Behind the ostensible government sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people. To destroy this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.”	Theodore Roosevelt
US/Deep state	<nowiki>“I join with those who assess the decay of the so-called Pax Americana into ever widening arms build-ups and military violence, in the light of the very similar decay a century ago of the so-called Pax Brittanica. We need to rescind policies that are as visibly detrimental to America and the world today as they were to Britain then. The problem is that Amnerican institutions are again in the grip of collective mania, as they were in the Palmer raids of 1919 and the McCarthy persecutions of the early 1950s. People outside government must work for a redirection of the U.S. government away from mania and illegality, like the awakening that ends the McCarthy era. But to regain control of politics, Americans must learn to understand and cope with the dark forces of the deep state. America, I try to suggest at the end [of The American Deep State] has like Britain far more to contribute to the world than violent power.”</nowiki>	Peter Dale Scott	2015

 

Related Documents

Title	Type	Publication date	Author(s)	Description
Document:5 July Seminar; Potential guest list for discussion	spooky seminar invitation list	26 February 2016	Integrity Initiative	Seminar with a mix of media, academics and lots of spooks
Document:American War Machine	book introduction	1 November 2010	Peter Dale Scott	A precis of the entire book, an analysis of the hidden mechanisms behind the exercise of real power in the Western World. The book is a culmination and synthesis of all of the author's earlier work on 'Deep Events' and the 'Deep State. Together with the work of Ola Tunander on the same subjects, it is a highly recommended for anyone seeking more than superficial understanding of the predicament of 21st Century humanity.
Document:Anatomy of the Deep State	essay	21 February 2014	Mike Lofgren	An up to date analysis of the deep state in the US from a former insider who does not oppose the official narrative of 9-11.
Document:Bloggers Under Siege - Craig Murray Charged with Contempt of Court	blog post	27 April 2020	Ludwig De Braeckeleer	From Lockerbie to the Russia Hoax, Craig Murray has of course upset people in high-places, including some who work for Intelligence Agencies.
Document:Counter-Intelligence: Spying Deters Democracy	interview	7 July 2014	Scott Noble Kim Petersen
Document:Democratic State v Deep State	essay	1 January 2008	Ola Tunander	An excellent introduction to deep politics. By clarifying the real role of the Secret Intelligence Services and the policy agenda they under firm control in most Western 'Democracies' (especially the UKUSA nations), it demonstrates the irrelevance of the party-political masquerade.
Document:Fifty Years of the Deep State	book	22 November 2013	Mark Gorton	A detailed overview of the modern US deep state which names names, the most prominent of which, George H. W. Bush, is exposed as the kingpin of the US Deep state and probable a key mover behind the 9/11 plot.
Document:Obama’s Humanitarianism as Window-Dressing for the US “Deep State” Agenda - The Case of Syria	article	18 June 2013	Elizabeth Woodworth
Document:The Deep State and 9/11	article	11 June 2008	Peter Dale Scott
Document:The Spectacle of The False Flag	book	1 March 2015	Eric Wilson
Document:The Terror Attacks in France. The Broader Geopolitical Implications	interview	10 January 2015	Umberto Pascali	Interview with Umberto Pascali – For Voice of the People, TV Sonce, Skipje, Macedonia
Document:Transnationalised Repression Parafascism and the US	article	September 1986	Peter Dale Scott

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