Skip to content Skip to navigation
University of Warwick
  • Study
  • |
  • Research
  • |
  • Business
  • |
  • Alumni
  • |
  • News
  • |
  • About

University of Warwick
Publications service & WRAP

Highlight your research

  • WRAP
    • Home
    • Search WRAP
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse WRAP by Year
    • Browse WRAP by Subject
    • Browse WRAP by Department
    • Browse WRAP by Funder
    • Browse Theses by Department
  • Publications Service
    • Home
    • Search Publications Service
    • Browse by Warwick Author
    • Browse Publications service by Year
    • Browse Publications service by Subject
    • Browse Publications service by Department
    • Browse Publications service by Funder
  • Help & Advice
University of Warwick

The Library

  • Login
  • Admin

Secrecy and State capacity: a look behind the Iron Curtain

Tools
- Tools
+ Tools

Harrison, Mark (2017) Secrecy and State capacity: a look behind the Iron Curtain. Working Paper. Coventry: University of Warwick. Department of Economics. Warwick economics research papers series (WERPS) (1134).

[img]
Preview
PDF
WRAP-twerp-1134-harrison-2017.pdf - Other - Requires a PDF viewer.

Download (1038Kb) | Preview
Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...

Request Changes to record.

Abstract

This paper reviews two decades of research on the political economy of secrecy, based on the records of former Soviet state and party archives. Secrecy was an element of Soviet state capacity, particularly its capacity for decisiveness, free of the pressures and demands for accountability that might have arisen from a better informed citizenry. But secrecy was double-edged. Its uses also incurred substantial costs that weakened the capacity of the Soviet state to direct and decide. The paper details the costs of secrecy associated with “conspirative” government business processes, adverse selection of management personnel, everyday abuses of authority, and an uninformed leadership.

Item Type: Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper)
Subjects: D History General and Old World > DK Russia. Soviet Union. Former Soviet Republics
J Political Science > JF Political institutions (General)
Divisions: Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): Official secrets -- Soviet Union, Kommunisticheskai︠a︡ partii︠a︡ Sovetskogo Soi︠u︡za‏ -- Sources
Series Name: Warwick economics research papers series (WERPS)
Publisher: University of Warwick. Department of Economics
Place of Publication: Coventry
ISSN: 0083-7350
Official Date: February 2017
Dates:
DateEvent
February 2017Published
Number: 1134
Number of Pages: 31
Institution: University of Warwick
Status: Not Peer Reviewed
Publication Status: Published
Access rights to Published version: Open Access (Creative Commons)

Request changes or add full text files to a record

Repository staff actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

View more statistics

twitter

Email us: wrap@warwick.ac.uk
Contact Details
About Us