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Begin New Search Topic Whistle Blowing Political Geography North America

1. Servicewomen as Whistleblowers: Canadian Servicewomen and the Revelations of Military Sexual Violence

Author:
Claire Cookson-Hills
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of Military and Strategic Studies
Institution:
Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies
Abstract:
This article documents the history of revelations of sexual misconduct within the military, and places that history in the paradoxical context of the responses of Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and the Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC). Starting in 1998 with the Maclean’s reporting, servicewomen have publicly shared their personal experiences of military sexual trauma. The history of these revelations has been written by journalists in conversation with servicewomen. Journalists have been supportive and ham-handed advocates of justice for survivors of military sexual violence. By contrast, both CAF and VAC have been reactionary in their responses to military sexual violence. Such focus on sexual violence stands in contrast to how servicewomen place the violence in the wider context of their career. After 2015, servicewomen have taken steps to advocate, organize, write their own stories publicly, and thereby put pressure on the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs to change.
Topic:
Armed Forces, Women, Sexual Violence, Whistle Blowing, and Military
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

2. Congress Should Lay Out the Welcome Mat for Whistleblowers

Author:
Johmn Milko and Mieke Eoyang
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Third Way
Abstract:
Like any large organization, the United States government is susceptible to waste, fraud, and abuse. In order to help combat these inefficiencies, Congress has instituted a series of whistleblower protection laws to encourage employees to report such instances. However, these laws do not offer blanket protection to any and all whistleblowers. Legal protections for intelligence community (IC) whistleblowers are limited. But broadly, Congress benefits when whistleblowers are protected. The Whistleblower Protection Act (WPA), signed into law in 1989, protects government employees against retaliation for protected disclosures to specified entities. These disclosures include “the release of information that the employee reasonably believes demonstrates illegality, gross mismanagement, gross waste, abuse of authority, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety.” The definition of specified entities depends on the nature of the information disclosed. While non-classified information can be disclosed to anyone, classified information must be disclosed only to the United States Office of Special Counsel or the appropriate agency’s Inspector General.
Topic:
Corruption, Intelligence, National Security, and Whistle Blowing
Political Geography:
United States and North America

3. THE LOGIC OF CREDIBLE COMMITMENTS IN THE COVERT SPHERE

Author:
Michael Poznansky and William Spaniel
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Commentary and Analysis
Institution:
Political Violence @ A Glance
Abstract:
The AUMF is back in the news. Last month, Senators Bob Corker and Tim Kaine introduced new legislation to replace the 2001 and 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force bills. The former provided the authority to go after al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and “associated forces”; the latter authorized the 2003 War in Iraq. In advancing this new bill, Corker and Kaine pushed Congress to reassert some degree of authority over war-making decisions, but some observers aren’t persuaded it will have this effect. Time will tell what will become of this particular piece of legislation. In some ways, though, it is a proxy for a broader conversation about how much latitude American presidents will have to prosecute the so-called War on Terror in the years ahead. Since 9/11, Congress and the public have given the executive branch a long leash. If this deference wanes, the manner in which oversight over foreign policy evolves – especially for activities that occur far from public view – could change. Perhaps most surprisingly, the impetus for that change could come from an unlikely source: the president.
Topic:
Security, Intelligence, and Whistle Blowing
Political Geography:
North America and United States of America