U.S. interests neither totally agree nor totally conflict with those of other states.
- Paul R. Pillar
- The National Interest
The acquisition of power, through the ballot box, in a democracy by political forces that undermine that very democracy—by surreptitiously channeling the influence of a foreign state or by using authoritarian tactics to retain power—is the stuff of thriller fiction.
It is grist for stories like The Manchurian Candidate .
In a democracy such as the United States, such scenarios present political quandaries for some of the same reasons that they offer captivating material for writers of fiction.
The security services…