Knowledge as Power: Political and Legal Control of Information

The recent Iran-Contra experience brought to light how intricately the political process revolves around questions of who knows what and who decides what should be secret. In this provocative new book, David Sadofsky offers a comprehensive examination of the relationship between the structure of American government and the treatment of information. With an emphasis on Watergate, the Vietnam War, and Iran-Contra, the book reveals a structural dynamic in U.S. government that replicates deep conflict over the control of information. The conflict often takes on the dimensions of a Constitutional confrontation. Knowledge as Power explores the dynamics that lead to such confrontations as well as the resulting resolutions and information policies. Knowledge as Power concludes that the presidency and general government bureaucracy project a conservative model for the control of information. They broadly gather information, use it as desired and limit its disclosure. Sadofsky demonstrates how this conservative model blocks Congress and the American people from valuable information and violates constitutional rights. Written from the premise that the key to understanding modern government is understanding its information policies, this book will be of great value to both students and scholars of American government, civil liberties, constitutional government, and public administration.