CIA Bureaucracy in Academia

The CIA provides evidence that bureaucracy can be built through distinct actions. Here are a few guidelines from their handbook on how to disrupt activist organizations: Alastair Kocho-Williams @akochowi Follow The CIA manual on disrupting activist groups largely explains most meetings in academia. General Interference with Organizations and Production (1) Insist on doing everything through “channels.” Never permit short-cuts to be taken in order to expedite decisions. (2) Make “speeches.” Talk as frequently as possible and at great length. Illustrate your “points” by long anecdotes and accounts of personal experiences. Never hesitate to make a few appropriate “patriotic” comments. (3) When possible, refer all matters to committees, for “further study and consideration.” Attempt to make the committees as large as possible—never less than five. (4) Bring up irrelevant issues as frequently as possible. (5) Haggle over precise wordings of communications, minutes, resolutions. (6) Refer back to matters decided upon at the last meeting and attempt to re-open the question of the advisability of that action. (7) Advocate “caution.” Be “reasonable” and urge your fellow-conferees to be “reasonable” and avoid haste which might result in embarrassments or difficulties later on. (8) Be worried about the propriety of any decision—raise the question of whether such action is contemplated within the jurisdiction of the group or whether it might conflict with the policy of some higher echelon. 7:01 PM · Jul 2, 2024 · 737.7K Views

A screenshot presents a tweet quoting a CIA sabotage manual, alongside an excerpt listing tactics for disrupting organizations. The tactics—endless speeches, oversized committees, irrelevant issues, word-policing, reopening settled decisions, and excessive caution—are recognizable as a parody of academic meetings and bureaucracy. People send it as a sarcastic reaction to inefficient meetings, administrative obstruction, or institutional overthinking.

• @jemalloc / 1778 2024-10-23