The Enemy Within

Potton & Burton 2024

The human cost of state surveillance in Aotearoa/New Zealand

The Enemy Within outlines the history of state surveillance in Aotearoa over the last 100 years, with a particular focus on how it has been used to penalise activists working for social change.
With the help of archival material, released SIS files, and other formerly secret material, the author, Maire Leadbeater, has been able to examine the depth of state intrusion into the lives of individuals and movements that challenged the social order. Thought-provoking and insightful, The Enemy Within mounts the argument that unaccountable intelligence agencies harm our democracy and should be disbanded, and their work left to the police.