Secret Leviathan. Secrecy and State Capacity under Soviet Communism: Mark Harrison, Stanford, CA: Hoover Institution and Stanford University Press, 2023, xxv + 341pp., $65.00 p/b.

"Secret Leviathan" by Mark Harrison is a comprehensive analysis of the pervasive secrecy within the Soviet Party-state and its impact on state capacity. Harrison argues that secrecy was a core feature of the Soviet system, supported by four institutional pillars: state monopoly, press censorship, conspirative norms of the ruling party, and the secret police. The regime of secrecy had various consequences, including diverting time and energy away from other activities, creating a less talented and diverse pool of officials, fostering a low-trust society, and hampering informed decision-making by the Party elite. While the book has limitations in determining the size of these effects and exploring the evolution of the regime over time, it provides valuable insights into the nature of the Soviet system and has implications for the study of authoritarian regimes beyond the Soviet context. [Extracted from the article]

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