Collusion

Collusion is an agreement between two or more entities to mislead or otherwise defraud another. Collusion may involve persons, companies, associations, or countries. Use of the term typically implies some degree of secrecy and/or deception on the part of those who stand to benefit from their illicit cooperation. As a result, collusion has clear undesirable connotations and is generally viewed in a negative light. Although not always considered a crime, collusion often involves criminal activities that can have serious legal repercussions. Collusion is most frequently associated with business, but it can also have applications in realms such as politics, education, and sports. The idea of collusion as it pertains to politics became a matter of widespread public discussion and debate in the late 2010s after accusations arose that members of President Donald Trump’s election campaign allegedly colluded with Russian agents to give Trump an unfair advantage in the 2016 presidential election. A 2020 report released by the US Senate Intelligence Committee confirmed that Russian agents interfered in the 2016 presidential eleciton and raised serious concerns about several Trump's election team, including campaign chairman Paul Manafort, whose actions the committee said posed a grave counterintelligence threat. However, the investigation into the collusion charge did not find sufficient evidence to reach such a conclusion.

Background

To properly understand the concept of collusion, it is first necessary to understand the term collusion itself. Collusion is typically defined as a deceitful arrangement between two or more parties in which one party agrees to bring an action against the other for some devious purpose ultimately meant to defraud a third party in some way. Historically, however, this is not the way collusion has always been viewed. The English word collusion is derived from the Latin term colludere, which itself is formed from the Latin root words -com, meaning “with” or “together,” and ludere, meaning “to play.” This means that the word collusion would be literally interpreted to essentially mean “playing together.” As a result, the idea of collusion did not necessarily have a negative connotation for much of its history. Such a connotation did not arise until collusion first appeared in the English language during the Middle Ages. The inaugural appearance of collusion in the English language came in the late thirteenth century when it was used in a note written in the margins of a treatise on English law known as Britton. The first literary use of collusion came courtesy of Geoffrey Chaucer, a poet and author best known for penning The Canterbury Tales. Chaucer used the phrase “vile collusion” in a late fourteenth-century poem called “Lack of Steadfastness.” This helped to establish collusion as an underhanded and deceitful practice and thus gave the term the negative connotation with which it is commonly associated.

In modern usage, collusion is typically thought of as a form of illicit cooperation between two or more parties meant to produce some sort of unfair advantage over another party. When the term collusion is used, the implication of dishonest and even outright illegal activities is almost always present. Simply put, the use of collusion suggests the perpetration of fraud for the purpose of unlawful gain, financial or otherwise. At the same time, collusion is a general term that does not necessarily describe a specific offense. While there are exceptions, collusion is often legally viewed only as a relationship within which specific criminal acts might be committed. In other words, collusion itself is not always considered a criminal offense even in spite of its negative connotations.

Overview

Collusion in the most traditional sense is typically associated with business and economics. Within the business world, collusion occurs when rival companies that would not normally work together agree to cooperate with one another to attain some sort of mutual benefit. Collusion of this sort is usually engaged in as a way to disrupt the market for a particular good or service and gain an unfair competitive advantage over other companies that operate in the same market. Companies also sometimes resort to collusion so as to gain an unfair advantage over consumers or others. There are many types of collusion in business. To name just a few, companies may collude by sharing insider information, engaging in price or wage fixing, or intentionally restricting supply in order to maximize profits. In the United States, collusion of this nature is explicitly unlawful. Antitrust laws make all forms of business collusion illegal. As a result, companies caught engaging in any type of collusion are subject to serious legal consequences.

Collusion is also a major concern in politics. Political actors sometimes choose to collude with one another as a way of gaining an advantage over their adversaries. Political collusion can occur at various levels. For example, two or more national governments might collude with one another to give their countries some sort of advantage over other countries. On a smaller scale, individual politicians or political parties might collude in order to limit the power of those who oppose their views or agendas. Politicians might also engage in collusion to gain an edge in a contentious election campaign. One prominent example of this type of collusion allegedly played out in the 2016 US presidential election. Evidence emerged suggesting that members of candidate Donald Trump’s campaign team may have colluded with Russian operatives in order to secure compromising information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton that would give Trump an unfair advantage in the election.

There are also many types of collusion that take place outside of business and politics. In education, collusion occurs when two or more students work together on a project that is meant to be turned in for individual assessment. Cooperating in this way gives the involved students an unfair advantage over other students who complete the assignment in question individually as intended. Collusion can also occur in sports. In the late 1980s, Major League Baseball (MLB) became embroiled in a collusion scandal when it was determined that team owners made a collusive agreement not to sign free agents from other teams. This agreement eliminated competition for players and thereby limited players’ ability to bargain while negotiating new contracts. The National Football League (NFL) also faced accusations of collusion when former San Francisco 49ers quarterback and social activist Colin Kaepernick alleged in 2017 that team owners conspired to keep him out of the league after he started kneeling when the national anthem was played before games. He said he kneeled during the anthem as a form of protest of racial inequality, discrimination, and police brutality.

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