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."
Example:
"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."