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A 'shadow government' is a "government-in-waiting" that remains in waiting with the intent to take control of the government in response to some event.

Contents

Politics

In fictional works

See also

External links

Politics

In parliamentary governments, the largest opposition party often refers to itself as a shadow government in which top leaders of the opposition are prepared to assume certain ministries should their party come to power in an election. For example, in Britain the largest opposition party's Defence spokesperson might refer to themselves as the Shadow Defence Secretary. Smaller parties have spokespeople too, but these do not generally use shadow names.
It is also used as a somewhat pejorative term to denote a government that takes over in the event of a disaster. Guerrillas sometimes have equivalent structures to the present government in hopes that when the guerrilla-group overthrows the present government, the guerrilla-forces will more easily be able to transition from militarist to administrative capacity. Also, the term "shadow government" can be used loosely to refer to a guerrilla-force that controls and administers the majority of the physical area of a country, rendering the official national government significantly less able to administer its policies. Some consider the current strength of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) and the New People's Army to be to this degree.
In nations with less apparent strife, there are several safeguards in place in the event of a disaster strong enough to disrupt the functioning of the government. The United States has Continuity of Operations Plan, Continuity of Government and the presidential line of succession plans.
The tasks and objectives of Operation Gladio varied from country to country, but in many countries the 'stay-behind' army consisted of a pre-planned cabinet to rule the country in an interim fashion if the country were invaded by Warsaw Pact states, either in-country or in exile.
In the United Kingdom the Civil Contingencies Secretariat is responsible for planning for government continuity in the event of a catastrophe. None of these safeguards is itself a "shadow government", but they provide, at least in theory, a blueprint for what to do if the governmental structure collapses.

In fictional works

The concept is popular in many books, movies, and other productions that focus on or use as thematic elements conspiracy theories and/or science fiction. Conspiracy-theorists define ''shadow government'' as a secret government within the government. This secret government is the "real" government that controls the known government's basic course. The members' identities and meeting-halls of the secret shadow government are known by only a select few. This secret government is often portrayed as corrupt and having connections to the CIA, Illuminati, and Freemasons. It usually knows about and handles weird situations that are kept secret, such as the New World Order, the Apocalypse, aliens, the Antichrist, demons, human body- or soul harvesting, missing persons, experiments on people, etc. The shadow government is often funded by money that has been purposely "misplaced" within the government's system, or concealed behind government-contract projects that are false fronts for other undertakings.
One of the most popular manifestations of the Shadow Government is Majestic 12, figuring prominently in both conspiracy literature and works of fiction, and often tied in with the Roswell incident of 1947.
Works of Fiction in which the Shadow Government is prominently featured:

★ ''The X-Files'' was largely concerned with the conflict between F.B.I. agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully and a shadow government organization known as The Syndicate, that was involved in a global cover-up related to extraterrestrial life.

★ The PC shooter/adventure game ''Deus Ex'' features many elements of Shadow Government lore, with several such organizations, including Majestic-12 and The Illuminati, playing prominent roles.

★ The Star Trek universe, in particular '' features several intelligence organizations that bear similarities with the Shadow Government concept, such as the Tal Shiar of Romulus, Cardassia's Obsidian Order, and Section 31 of The Federation.

★ The RPG ''Fallout 2'' features the Enclave, a shadow government that has taken over a post-apocalyptic America.

★ The Robert Anton Wilson novel ''The Illuminatus Trilogy'' satirizes many elements of conspiracy theory, including the concept of a shadow government, with particular emphasis on The Illuminati.

★ The clandestine organization known as Checkmate in DC Comics has been shown to fulfill a role similar to that of what is ascribed to fictional "Shadow Governments."

★ A shadow government style organization known as The Trust figures heavily in the comic book series ''100 Bullets''.

★ The Batman miniseries/graphic novel ''The Dark Knight Strikes Again'' portrays the ordinary government as a front for a clandestine shadow government controlled by Lex Luthor and Brainiac.

★ The Illuminati and many other Shadow Government organizations are the central subject of the card games ''Illuminati'', and ''Illuminati: New World Order'', published by Steve Jackson Games.

★ Many concepts of the Shadow Government, secret societes, and conspiracies in general are satirized by the humorous parody religious Discordianism and particularly The Church of the Subgenius.

★ The Illuminati were featured as villains in the 1990's Disney animated series ''Gargoyles'', and the main antagonist of the series, David Xanatos, was a member of the group.

★ The anime series ''Serial Experiments Lain'' mentions Majestic-12.

★ The series ''Prison Break'' features an organization in the vein of a Shadow Government known as The Company.

★ In the Metal Gear Solid video game series The Patriots (or La-Li-Lu-Le-Lo) are powerful shadow government like organization that controls every aspect of the United State Government, controlling even the president like a pawn. They are responsible for all of the events that have taken place throughout the series.

★ In the parody textbook ''America (The Book)'', one feature is a fold-out chart of a shadow government for the United States.

★ They Might Be Giants recorded a song called "The Shadow Government" for their 2007 album The Else. The verses are written from the point of view of a paranoid man. In the end, he tries to put The Mayor under citizen's arrest and is murdered. ("...now my body's in his trunk.") The chorus is the line "Where's the shadow government when you need it?"

See also

★ Shadow Cabinet

★ Continuity of government

★ Government in exile

External links

★ Barton Gellman and Susan Schmidt with contribution from Mary Lou White, "Shadow Government Is at Work in Secret: After Attacks, Bush Ordered 100 Officials to Bunkers Away From Capital to Ensure Federal Survival," ''Washington Post'', March 1, 2002; Page A01.

★ Spencer S. Hsu, "Bush Changes Continuity Plan: Administration, Not DHS, Would Run Shadow Government," ''Washington Post'', May 10, 2007; Page A12.

★ The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis A PBS Documentary Transcript

★ The Secret Government: The Constitution in Crisis A PBS Documentary Video

★ The Shadow Government: Identification and Analysis