Foreign Policy Magazine

Bigly Brother

Donald Trump has inherited a ready-made surveillance state. Will he use it to impose absolute power?

Americans have been warned for decades about the potential consequences of the U.S. surveillance state—the largest, most powerful, and most intrusive in the world—falling into a would-be tyrant’s hands. With Donald Trump’s inauguration looming, I have to wonder: Was anyone paying attention?

In the summer of 1975, on NBC’s Meet the Press, Sen. Frank Church issued an early admonition. He had just completed a comprehensive investigation of the U.S. intelligence community, and he came away stunned by what he discovered at the National Security Agency (NSA), even in the digital Stone Age. “That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people, and no American would have

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Foreign Policy Magazine

Foreign Policy Magazine10 min read
Meet India’s Generation Z
India changes more in five years than many countries would in a quarter century. This is partly because it is still relatively young: The country gained independence just 76 years ago, and nearly half of its population is under the age of 25. As one
Foreign Policy Magazine14 min read
The True Believer
IT ALL BEGAN IN BEIJING. Narendra Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat when he visited in 2011 to pitch his state as a destination for Chinese investment. As India’s ambassador to China at the time, S. Jaishankar was tasked with helping to facilita
Foreign Policy Magazine2 min read
Multidisciplinary Curriculum and Career Planning Foster Flexibility and Public-Private Sector Transitions
Amid the ever-changing terrain of international affairs careers, Julie Nussdorfer, associate director of global careers at Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), has observed several transformative trends. Notably,

Related Books & Audiobooks