Behavior by any
individual or entity which conspires, attempts or ultimately serves to coordinate, reinforce or achieve outcomes desired by a separate
individual or entity. The term is most often understood relative to scenarios in which the
natural outcome would have been different had the collusion not occurred.
For example: When actors from a foreign, enemy nation generate
false and derogatory narratives or stories designed to exploit social divisions,
sway elections and undermine the political institutions of a second sovereign nation, and a third party
actor then espouses and advances those false narratives or stories, the later party is guilty of acting in collusion with the former in advancement of their goals.
Expanding on the above example, the obligation to avoid engaging in such collusion increases relative to the position of authority held by the offending party - as does the risk of such collusion constituting a criminal act. This is the
case in part because of oaths those officials take to uphold the sanctity of public
trust, but also because they are often uniquely privy to the very evidence which debunks the narratives, identifies their origin and indicates their nefarious intent. Perpetuating such false and derogatory narratives or stories in disregard of such evidence therefore renders the collusion "willful."
"The
arrogant and corrupt politician was so deluded by his misplaced sense of entitlement and intellectual superiority, he failed to recognize that publicly questioning the veracity and impartiality of his own
intelligence agencies not only constituted obstruction of justice, but was in itself a
clear, demonstrable and self-evident act of collusion."
