TAJNA WSPÓŁPRACA ZE SŁUŻBĄ BEZPIECZEŃSTWA: SZKIC TEORETYCZNY
SECRET COLLABORATION WITH THE SECURITY SERVICE: A THEORETICAL SKETCH

Summary/Abstract: a study on secret collaboration with the Polish communist Secret Service is presented here and analysed in reference to theoretical modelling. I propose a definition of the collaboration, which is based on three categories (hiding actions, betrayal, and asymmetrical relations), and a relational understanding of secrecy and theoretical perspective rooted mainly in the microsociology of Georg Simmel’s secrecy in dyads and triads, Randall Collins’ interaction ritual and Erving Goffman’s strategic interaction. I also develop theses that identify the tensions arising from the creation of a false closeness and the generation of emotional energy, together with the development of an advantage in the relationship between the undercover collaborator and the SB officer.Fields in which the game of dominance take place are described in detail: the cognitive field, the emotional field, and those relating to power and structural holes. Some exemplary situations of failed secret collaboration are considered and some general typological proposals concerning informants are also suggested.

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