On Principal-Agent Problems, Rogue Agencies and Systemic Government Failure: A Case Study

This article summarizes the US Congress Committee Investigation Report on abuses carried out by intelligence agents of the Department of Commerce (DOC) over 16 years (S. Rep. 2021). We follow a pragmatic approach to the study of this case, and focus on institutional contexts, principal-agent problems, and in providing an analysis of the nature of agents’ actions. This analysis indicates that: (1) the agents actions took place because of concomitant failures in numerous government agencies likely triggered by the dismantling of government or its re-balancing towards national security issues, (2) the agents were motivated by white supremacist values and that well-known incentive structures could have prevented much of their destructive actions, and (3) their actions were totalitarian in nature. The issues raised in this article are still of concern since it is unclear if the similar issues are occurring in other parts of government.