Whistleblowers: Honesty in America from Washington to Trump
A book talk with Allison Stanger, Professor of International Politics and Economics at Middlebury College
Thursday, November 14, 201912:00 PM
Bunche Hall, Room 6275
Los Angeles, CA 90095 
A magisterial exploration of whistleblowing in America, from the Revolutionary War to the Trump era
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Misconduct by those in high places is always dangerous to reveal. Whistleblowers thus face conflicting impulses: by challenging and exposing transgressions by the powerful, they perform a vital public service—yet they always suffer for it. This episodic history brings to light how whistleblowing, an important but unrecognized cousin of civil disobedience, has held powerful elites accountable in America.
Analyzing a range of whistleblowing episodes, from the corrupt Revolutionary War commodore Esek Hopkins (whose dismissal led in 1778 to the first whistleblower protection law) to Edward Snowden, to the dishonesty of Donald Trump, Allison Stanger reveals the centrality of whistleblowing to the health of American democracy. She also shows that with changing technology and increasing militarization, the exposure of misconduct has grown more difficult to do and more personally costly for those who do it—yet American freedom, especially today, depends on it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Allison Stanger is the Russell Leng ’60 Professor of International Politics and Economics at Middlebury College and External Professor at the Santa Fe Institute. She is the author of One Nation Under Contract: The Outsourcing of American Power and the Future of Foreign Policy and Whistleblowers: Honesty in America from Washington to Trump, both with Yale University Press. She is working on a new book tentatively titled Consumers vs. Citizens: Justice and Democracy’s Public Square in a Big Data World.
EVENT PARKING:
The closest parking is located in Parking Structure 3. For Pay-by-Plate Parking, park and then use a Pay Station to purchase parking. For a map and directions, click here.
Sponsor(s): Burkle Center for International Relations