Deep state conspiracy theory in the United States
The theory argues that there exist networks of collaborators within the leadership of the high-level financial and industrial entities, which exercise power alongside or within the elected United States government.
[3][4] The term has precedents since at least the 1950s,[5] with some drawing parallels between it and the concept of the military–industrial complex, which posits a cabal of generals and defense contractors who enrich themselves through pushing the country into endless wars.
A 1955 article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, quotes Americans sharing their belief in the existence of a "dual state": a hidden national security hierarchy and shadow government that monitors and controls elected politicians.
[27][30] President Trump's supporters used deep state to refer to allegations that intelligence officers and executive branch officials were influencing policy via leaks or other internal means.
"[citation needed] Niall Stanage has described how critics of Trump's use of the term deep state maintain that it is a conspiracy theory with no basis in reality.
[48] UCLA School of Law professor Jon D. Michaels argued that compared with developing governments such as Egypt, Pakistan, and Turkey, governmental power structures in the United States are "almost entirely transparent".
[32] Stephen Walt, professor of international relations at Harvard University, argued that there is no deep state and that "to the extent that there is a bipartisan foreign-policy elite, it is hiding in plain sight".
[54] Linguist Geoffrey Nunberg said that deep state is an "elastic label" in that "its story conforms to the intricate grammar of those conspiracy narratives", referencing the transition of conservative rhetoric regarding "big government" from "meddlesome bunglers" to "conniving ideologues".
[55] Fox News panelist Charles Krauthammer called the idea ridiculous, arguing that the United States government is controlled by a bureaucracy, rather than a government-wide conspiracy.
