The regulator becomes the lobbyist. The general becomes the board member.
Literal meaning: The revolving door describes the movement of individuals between senior positions in government, regulatory agencies, and the private sector companies they previously regulated or will subsequently regulate — producing relationships, institutional knowledge, and implicit obligations that serve the interests of both the individuals and the industries they move between.
Origin: The concept is established in political science and public policy literature. In the technology sector, it has been documented extensively: former FTC commissioners joining major tech companies; former NSA directors joining Silicon Valley security firms; former EU commissioners advising platforms on regulatory strategy. The pattern is not unique to tech but is particularly acute because of the speed of industry development and the concentration of technical expertise.
The circulation of individuals between regulatory positions and the industries they regulate — where the relationship between regulator and regulated becomes structural.
The Appeal: Government and regulatory bodies need people with deep industry knowledge. Industry needs people who understand regulatory requirements and political processes. The circulation produces genuine expertise transfer in both directions. “Cool-off” periods — required waiting times before former regulators can join regulated industries — attempt to manage the most acute conflicts.
The Friction: The revolving door produces — the process by which regulatory bodies begin to serve the interests of the industries they regulate rather than the public. Dual-Use Technology governance is particularly susceptible: the technical complexity means that the people who understand the technology well enough to regulate it are also the most attractive to the companies being regulated. Broligarchy as a social network operates partly through the revolving door: the personal relationships formed in government are maintained when individuals move to industry, and vice versa. Cool-off periods are documented to be inadequate: the relationships and institutional knowledge remain even when direct employment is prohibited.
Why This Matters: Revolving door names the personnel mechanism of regulatory capture. Once you see it, “the regulator is independent” requires examination: where did they work before, where will they work next, and what relationships does that create?
Related terms: Digital-Military-Industrial Complex · Military-Industrial Complex · Broligarchy · Dual-Use Technology · Reconstruction Economy · Situated Knowledge · Sovereignty as a Service
Read more:
- The Pentagon Labyrinth — Hartung, W.D. (2011). Project on Government Oversight (POGO) — on the structural inefficiencies of the US defence system and the revolving-door relationships between the Pentagon, military contractors, lobbyists, and political institutions.
- The Revolving Door and Big Tech — Socius (2025) — on how personnel circulation between governments and technology corporations shapes regulatory power, policymaking, and platform governance.
- Big Tech’s Revolving Door — Regulatory Capture Lab — on how former regulators, policymakers, and corporate executives move between public office and major technology firms, reinforcing institutional influence and regulatory capture.