What is "shadow government"

n. A government-in-waiting that is prepared to take control in response to certain events. Often used to refer to leadership of the largest opposition party in parliament, which would assume control should the ruling party be displaced in elections.

Shadow government may refer to:

• A government run by an unelected bureaucracy, or a state within a state
  • known as the deep state in Turkey
• A conspiracy theory of a secret government, see Shadow government (conspiracy)
• A term for plans for an emergency government that takes over in the event of a disaster, see continuity of government
• An opposition government in a parliamentary system, see Shadow Cabinet
• "The Shadow Government", a song by They Might Be Giants on their 2007 album The Else
• Shadow Government, a 2009 film by Cloud Ten Pictures

The shadow government (cryptocracy, secret government, or invisible government) is a family of conspiracy theories based on the notion that real and actual political power resides not with publicly elected representatives (for example, the United States Congress) but with private individuals who are exercising power behind the scenes, beyond the scrutiny of democratic institutions. According to this belief, the official elected government is in reality subservient to the shadow government who are the true executive power.

Shadow government theories often propose that the government is secretly controlled by foreign elements (such as aliens or the Vatican and Jesuits), internal minorities (such as the Jews, moneyed interests and central banks, or Freemasons), or globalist elites and supranational organizations, who seek to manipulate policy or conquer the world.