Revisiting plausible deniability

• Published in: Journal of strategic studies Vol. 45; no. 4; pp. 511 - 533
• Main Author: Poznansky, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Routledge 07.06.2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Action; Blame; Chief executives; Cold War; Covert; covert action; Covert operations; Democracy; executives; intelligence; Norms; Plausible deniability; Secrecy; Sponsorship; Transparency; Variants

Despite its prominence as a tool of statecraft, covert action's defining characteristic - plausible deniability - remains a slippery concept. This article investigates the logics underlying the two main variants. The first ideal-type, the state model, captures efforts by states to disclaim spon...