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Sounding the Alarm: The Political Economy of Whistleblowing in the US Security State

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  • Coyne Christopher J.

    (Department of Economics, George Mason University, MSN 3G4, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

  • Goodman Nathan

    (Department of Economics, George Mason University, MSN 3G4, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA)

  • Hall Abigail R.

    (Department of Economics, The University of Tampa, 401 West Kennedy Blvd, Tampa, FL 33606, USA)

Abstract

What role do whistleblowers play in democratic politics? This paper answers this question by analyzing the political economy of whistleblowing within democratic political institutions. Democratic politics is characterized by numerous principal-agent problems creating significant space for opportunism. Whistleblowers help to resolve these principal-agent problems through the revelation of information regarding abuses of power. These revelations can take place internally, by taking advantage of channels to report abuse, or externally, by publicly revealing information. The latter is especially important where internal mechanisms for reporting opportunism are lacking. Whistleblowing in the US national security state is presented to illustrate this logic.

Suggested Citation

  • Coyne Christopher J. & Goodman Nathan & Hall Abigail R., 2019. "Sounding the Alarm: The Political Economy of Whistleblowing in the US Security State," Peace Economics, Peace Science, and Public Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 25(1), pages 1-11, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:pepspp:v:25:y:2019:i:1:p:11:n:4
    DOI: 10.1515/peps-2018-0024
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    democratic politics; information asymmetries; whistleblowing; principal-agent problem; US national security state;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D73 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Bureaucracy; Administrative Processes in Public Organizations; Corruption
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H56 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - National Security and War

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