The Secret Leviathan: Secrecy and State Capacity under Soviet Communism

The Soviet Union was one of the most secretive states that ever existed. Mark Harrison delves into the archives to uncover how secrecy empowered the state to maintain monolithic authority through complex systems of rules and checks, monopoly of productive capital and secretive decision making.
But Soviet secrecy was double-edged: it incentivised indecision, compromised effectiveness and eroded trust.
Mark Harrison is Emeritus Professor of Economics at the University of Warwick and a CAGE Senior Research Fellow.
His book, 'The Secret Leviathan: Secrecy and State Capacity Under Society Communism', published by Stanford University Press, is out now. www.sup.org/books/title/?id=3...