Clandestine/Hidden Organizations

Abstract

Clandestine/hidden organizations are composed of groups of people who keep their affiliations secret and conceal internal and external organizational activities. Since the early 2000s, the prominence and notoriety of clandestine organizations have made them the subject of much discussion, debate, and research, although they have existed throughout human history. Three distinct communication characteristics that distinguish clandestine organizations from other types of collective organization create several theoretical, methodological, and ethical challenges for researchers. The increasing development and use of digital information technologies make the study of clandestine organizations both easier and more difficult.

Disentangling Antifeminist Paradoxes: Alternative Organizing in Antifeminist Online Spaces

“…However, in doing so, RPW invisibly weaves agentic authority into the TRP network. Extending Scott’s (2013) and Stohl and Stohl’s (2011, 2017) theorizing on the communicative constitution of hidden organizations, we argue RPW functions as an (in)visible feminist network that uses gendered (in)visibility to navigate and organize in the broader TRP network. Jensen and Meisenbach (2015) suggest tensions develop necessarily through (in)visible, alternative organizing.…”

Disciplined Into Hiding: Milk Banking and the “Obscured Organization”

“…The concealment experienced by milk banking/sharing organizations may appear to exemplify theories of hidden organizing, except for the fact that their being largely unknown is not internally motivated or communicatively enacted, even in response to conditions of external scrutiny or judgment. In short, the existence of milk banking/sharing is not intentionally shrouded as theories of hidden organizing would suggest (see Scott & Kang, 2017; Stohl & Stohl, 2017).…”

“…In recent years, scholars have questioned this foundation and expanded the concept of organizational identification beyond an individual-level construct by examining topics such as the limits and politics of transparency (Christensen & Cheney, 2015; Hale, 2013; Hansen & Flyverbom, 2015; Shumate & O'Connor, 2010) and organizational secrecy (Costas & Grey, 2016; Hoerl & Ortiz, 2015), bringing greater awareness to “hidden organizations” (Scott & Kang, 2017). Theories on hidden organizing denote “any sort of organizing that is intentionally shrouded from view” (Stohl & Stohl, 2017, p. 1, emphasis original) or collectives which “communicatively conceal core aspects of themselves from various audiences” (Scott & Kang, 2017, p. 44). Such groups eschew the pressures of transparency by keeping secret certain affiliations, taking explicit steps to protect member identity, or concealing internal and external activities (Scott, 2015).…”

“…The contrast between concealment of breastmilk donation at the public level and expressiveness at other levels suggests that our understandings of concealment choices may need to be extended. Thus far, hidden organizing literature has largely assumed intentionality on the part of the organization or its members when managing tensions of (in)visibility—theories on hidden organizing denote “any sort of organizing that is intentionally shrouded from view” (Stohl & Stohl, 2017, p. 1, emphasis original) or collectives which “communicatively conceal core aspects of themselves from various audiences” (Scott & Kang, 2017, p. 44). A hidden organization chooses to conceal its affiliations and activities toward some anticipated and beneficial end (Stohl & Stohl, 2017).…”

“…Thus far, hidden organizing literature has largely assumed intentionality on the part of the organization or its members when managing tensions of (in)visibility—theories on hidden organizing denote “any sort of organizing that is intentionally shrouded from view” (Stohl & Stohl, 2017, p. 1, emphasis original) or collectives which “communicatively conceal core aspects of themselves from various audiences” (Scott & Kang, 2017, p. 44). A hidden organization chooses to conceal its affiliations and activities toward some anticipated and beneficial end (Stohl & Stohl, 2017). Scholars like Jensen and Meisenbach (2015) have noted the importance of delving further into societal norms, resistance, and motivations for implementing hidden practices, and encouraged further research on the relationship between hidden organizing and stigma management (e.g., Meisenbach, 2010).…”