Terms

Deep State

Nick Name
The Deep State
The Deep State, also referred to as a state within a state, is a body of influential people that are members of government agencies or the military, believed to be involved in the secret manipulation or control of government policy. The term was originally coined to refer to a relatively invisible state apparatus in Turkey "composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services, military, security, judiciary, and organized crime", believed to be entrenched inside the government, bureaucracy, intelligence agencies, and other governmental entities. These people are known to be the shadow government that controls state policy behind the scenes. Some of the most known Examples of the Deep State include The Steele Dossier, NSA Surveillance, Republicans against Republicans, and the Vows to Thwart the President’s Agenda.

  • Idea that there are lifetime non-elected government officials that really run the US government
    • They push their own agendas 
    • Part of the bureaucracy
  • Historically considered to be a "conspiracy theory"
  • Gaining more traction as credible after the 2016 Trump election
    • CIA and FBI may have had hidden agendas
    • Public statements about officials "resisting" the Trump administration