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Geopolitics & Empire

Lance deHaven-Smith: What Are State Crimes Against Democracy?

Geopolitics & Empire

Geopolitics & Empire

News, Politics, Government, History

4.2570 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2017

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

https://youtu.be/IYOawEu6pak

Professor Emeritus Dr. Lance deHaven-Smith explains the importance of studying State Crimes Against Democracy (SCAD), an original phrase that he coined to describe the “high crimes” of elites in political office . He also explains how the CIA created the terminology “conspiracy theorist” in 1967 specifically to shut down any real investigation into crimes of the political elite.

Websites

http://dehaven-smith.com

https://twitter.com/ldehavensmith

Books

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_book_1?ie=UTF8&text=Lance+Dehaven-Smith&search-alias=books&field-author=Lance+Dehaven-Smith&sort=relevancerank

About Lance deHaven-Smith

Dr. Lance deHaven-Smith is a Professor Emeritus in the Reubin O’D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University.  He received his B.A. degree from the University of Georgia, summa cum laude, and his M.A. and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University.  A former President of the Florida Political Science Association, Dr. deHaven-Smith is the author of over a dozen books on topics ranging from religion and political philosophy to Florida government and politics.  His books on Florida include: Government in the Sunshine State (co-authored with David Colburn); Florida’s Megatrends (also co-authored with David Colburn); The Florida Voter; Environmental Concern in Florida and the Nation; The 1998 Almanac of Florida Politics (with Tom Fiedler); The 2000 Almanac of Florida Politics (also with Tom Fiedler); and The Atlas of Florida Voting and Public Opinion.  His most recently published book is The Battle for Florida, which analyzes the disputed 2000 presidential election.  His most recent book is Conspiracy Theory in America,  whch was published in hardback by the University of Texas Press in 2013.  The paperback edition came out  in 2014.

Dr. deHaven-Smith’s scholarship is nationally recognized. He has appeared on Good Morning America, the Today Show, NBC Nightly News with Tom Brokaw, CBS Nightly News with Dan Rather, the Jim Lehrer News Hour, CNN, NPR, and other national TV and radio shows.

Dr. deHaven-Smith has received many awards for his teaching, research, and community service.     While still a graduate student, he won the Chastain Award from the Southern Political Science Association for the best paper presented at its Annual Convention in 1978.     His first book (Philosophical Critiques of Policy Analysis) won the Manning Dauer prize for scholarship from the University of Florida.     In 2004, he was selected by Florida Trend Magazine as one of Florida’s 174 most influential people and 6 most influential scientists.     In 2006 he won FSU’s Graduate Teaching Award, one of only two such awards made by the University each year. In 2015 Dr. deHaven-Smith was appointed Reubin O’D. Askew Eminent Scholar in Florida Government and Politics. He retired in 2016 and was unanimously endorsed as Porfessor Emeritus by the faculty in his college.

*Podcast intro music is from the song “The Queens Jig” by “Musicke & Mirth” from their album “Music for Two Lyra Viols”: http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

This edition of the Geopolitics and Empire podcast is being recorded with a group of students.

0:05.7

We are interviewing Professor Emeritus, Dr. Lance Dehaven Smith of the Ruben-O-D. Askew School of Public Administration and Policy at Florida State University.

0:15.8

He has written over a dozen books and numerous articles, and his work can be found on his website at the haven dash smith.com the book we are discussing with him today is conspiracy

0:26.1

theory in America published just four years ago one review of the book states

0:33.1

that even the most incredulous readers will find themselves questioning their

0:37.3

own preconceived notions of paranoia,

0:39.8

governmental transparency, and conspiracy theorists.

0:43.3

In this book, he develops his definition of state crimes against democracy, SCAD, or high crimes,

0:49.3

and describes how the term conspiracy theorist was created by the CIA in 1967 to essentially

0:56.0

discredit dissents and criticism of the government. Thank you for joining us, Dr. DeHaven-Smith.

1:02.0

I'm glad to be here. Thank you for inviting me.

1:05.0

I'd like to start with the following. I was listening to some of your lectures online, and one of the fellows introducing you stated the following we don't learn about

1:14.3

oligarchy in academia I'd like to get your comments on this and aside from

1:19.9

this being sort of obvious I find this a vital issue because academia is one of

1:24.4

the battlegrounds from which arise either brave citizens who will make the world a better place,

1:29.4

or a neutered set of graduates who perpetuate the status quo.

1:35.4

Well, we stopped using the term oligarchy.

1:38.5

It was a common term in classical political philosophy up to, I would say, the 1900s.

1:45.3

Can you hear me all right?

1:47.8

Yes.

1:48.8

Yeah, it was a common term, but it got replaced by authoritarianism and totalitarianism.

1:56.3

I think we would be better off using the original term oligarchy. You know, we found that it fits very well with the Russian case

...

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