Every organization appears to be headed by secret agents of its opponents.

Robert Conquest (b. 1917) Anglo-American historian, diplomat, poet

“Conquest’s Second Law”

Attributed in Kingsley Amis, Memoirs (1991). Also known as "Conquest's Law of Organizations."

Variants:

• "Every organisation behaves as if it is run by secret agents of its opponents."
• "The behavior of any organization can best be predicted on the assumption that it is headed by a secret cabal of its enemies."