On Centralized Deliberate Dossierveillance
Cristina Plamadeala · 2025
Chapter 9 introduces the following two types of dossierveillance: centralized and institutional. Centralized dossierveillance is exercised by a governmental body or bodies and is found in totalitarian regimes with an active agenda to surveil “enemies” within and outside its borders. As I show in this chapter, the centralized deliberate dossierveillance in which the Securitate and the Stasi (abbreviated for Staatssicherheitsdienst) engaged was initiated at the top and executed at the grassroots level. By grassroots, I mean institutions such as churches, universities, or hospitals wherein someone who either worked there or infiltrated the institution reported to the top intelligence information. In this chapter, I also explain how the need for a reduction of the usage of torture during the Stalinist years in Romania led to the rise of centralized deliberate dossierveillance.