In Democracy's Shadow

Marcus G. Raskin and A. Carl LeVan
March 2005     ISBN: 1560256966

The contributors to In Democracy's Shadow trace the evolution and expansion of the National Security State step-by-step through the Cold War up to the present. They demonstrate how, since 1947, decision-making has become more centralized and government less transparent. September 11 has refueled the national security apparatus, but it was up and running long before. Far from being a radical breach, post-9/11 politics of interventionism abroad and heightened intolerance at home are an extension of the historical developments anatomized by the book's contributors.

This book presents an indispensable account of the spread of the National Security State throughout everyday life--to the government bureaucracy, the US Congress and little-noticed laws and regulations--raising fundamental questions that must be confronted by us all for the sake of American democracy.

Marcus G. Raskin worked in the executive branch as a staff member of the National Security Council and a consultant to the White House Office on Science and Technology. He co-founded the Institute for Policy Studies in 1963, and has written or edited eighteen books on political theory, foreign policy and national security. He is currently a professor of public policy at George Washington University and serves on the editorial board of The Nation.

A. Carl LeVan is the former legislative director for Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) and has served as a technical advisor to the National Assembly of Nigeria. He is currently completing his PhD in political science at the University of California, San Diego.