Compares Derrida's work on the secret with other important political thinkers, including Deleuze, Schmitt, Arendt, Batailie and Agamben. Draws parallels with the work of German sociologist Georg Simmel, showing Derrida's significance for sociological thought. Connects Derrida's work to a series of philosophical debates in the analytic tradition, such as the problems of consciousness, self-deception and other minds.

The Snowden Affair, Wikileaks, the `lone wolf’ terrorist, Hilary Clinton’s private email account – the question of the secret is arguably the central element of our contemporary political experience. Organised as a reflection on Jacques Derrida’s later writings on secrecy, Charles Barbour looks at the basic ontological question: `what is a secret?’