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Sociology Theories in MKULTRA Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

Sociology Theories in MKULTRA

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Structural Functi­onalism

Core Idea:
Society is a system of interr­elated parts that work together to maintain stability; deviance can serve functions.
Key Figure:
Talcott Parsons
MKULTRA Relevance:
The CIA’s role in national security was seen as functional in Cold War society — even when activities violated norms.
 
MKULTRA was framed as a way to protect social order from perceived Soviet destab­ili­sation.
 
Deviance here was functional for elite power struct­ures, reinfo­rcing U.S. dominance.
Analytical Point:
Highlights how deviance may be tolerated or instit­uti­ona­lised if it is perceived as contri­buting to societal stability.

Conflict Theory

Core Idea:
Society is in constant conflict between groups competing for resources and power; law serves the powerful.
Key Figures:
Karl Marx, C. Wright Mills
MKULTRA Relevance:
U.S. state power was leveraged to control knowledge and techno­logy, preventing the public from accessing truth.
 
The Cold War arms race extended to the “mind control race,” with science weaponised for geopol­itical dominance.
 
Victims were drawn from margin­alised groups — illust­rating how power shapes whose rights can be violated.
Analytical Point:
Shows MKULTRA as part of elite control, where law enforc­ement and scientific instit­utions served ruling­-class interests.

Symbolic Intera­cti­onism

Core Idea:
Society is constr­ucted through social intera­ctions and shared meanings; deviance is defined through labeling
Key Figure:
Herbert Blumer
MKULTRA Relevance:
“Mind control” was not just a technical goal, but a cultural concept — infused with Cold War fears, spy narrat­ives, and media depict­ions.
 
Intern­ally, scientists and agents redefined illegal acts as “research” or “opera­tions,” changing the moral meaning of their actions.
 
The label “national security” altered public perception when elements of MKULTRA surfaced.
Analytical Point:
Language and framing shaped how partic­ipants and the public understood the program.
 

Power/­Kno­wledge (Fouca­uldian Analysis)

Core Idea:
Knowledge and power are intert­wined; control of knowledge produces control over popula­tions.
Key Figure:
Michel Foucault
MKULTRA Relevance:
CIA controlled both the production of knowledge (research) and its secrecy, dictating what could be known about human psycho­logy.
 
The human body and mind became sites of discipline through chemical, sensory, and psycho­logical control.
 
Survei­llance of subjects paralleled Foucau­ldian “panop­ticism” — subjects altered behaviour under observ­ation.
Analytical Point:
MKULTRA represents biopower in action, where the state governs bodies and minds directly.

Social Constr­uction of Science

Core Idea:
Scientific facts are socially produced through negoti­ations, politics, and cultural context.
Key Figures:
Bruno Latour, Karin Knorr-­Cetina
MKULTRA Relevance:
Research results were shaped by CIA goals — “truth” was filtered through operat­ional useful­ness.
 
Funding decisions priori­tised experi­ments with intell­igence applic­ations, not peer-r­eviewed merit.
 
The boundary between legitimate science and pseudo­-sc­ience blurred under secrecy.
Analytical Point:
Demons­trates how instit­utional power determines what counts as valid knowledge

Deviance and Social Control

Core Idea:
Societies maintain order by defining and regulating deviance through norms, sanctions, and control mechan­isms.
Key Figures:
Howard Becker (Labeling Theory)
 
Émile Durkheim
MKULTRA Relevance:
The CIA engaged in norm violations (e.g., unethical experi­men­tat­ion), yet avoided sanctions through secrecy.
 
The state itself became an agent of deviance, redefining “legal” in ways that benefited operat­ions.
 
Whistl­ebl­owers and journa­lists who exposed MKULTRA were sometimes labeled as unpatr­iotic or conspi­rat­orial.
Analytical Point:
Shows how deviance is relative to power — the same acts by ordinary people would be crimin­alised.
 

Structural Violence

Core Idea:
Social structures can harm indivi­duals by preventing them from meeting basic needs.
Key Figure:
Johan Galtung
MKULTRA Relevance:
Victims suffered long-term psycho­logical and physical harm due to experi­ments.
 
Targeting psychi­atric patients, prisoners, and the homeless exploited pre-ex­isting social inequa­lities.
 
Harm was invisible to the broader public for decades — a hallmark of structural violence.
Analytical Point:
MKULTRA perpet­uated harm through instit­utional design, not individual malice alone.

Secrecy and Social Organi­sation

Core Idea:
Organi­sations can embed secrecy into their structure, shaping internal culture and external percep­tion.
Key Figures:
Georg Simmel
 
Gary Marx (on secrecy in social control)
MKULTRA Relevance:
Use of front organi­sat­ions, code names, and compar­tme­nta­lis­ation created a “need-­to-­know” hierarchy.
 
Inform­ation silos prevented internal dissent.
 
Public accoun­tab­ility was struct­urally impossible by design.
Analytical Point:
Secrecy wasn’t an accident — it was an organising principle of MKULTRA.