In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. Politics Politics is the process by which groups of people make decisions The term is sometimes used as a synonym for traitor, especially if the defector brings with him secrets or confidential information. In Law, treason is the Crime that covers some of the more serious acts of disloyalty to one's sovereign or Nation. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.

International politics

A memorial to those whose could not cross the Berlin Wall alive stood for ten months in 2004 and 2005 near Checkpoint Charlie. Checkpoint Charlie was the name given by the Western Allies to a crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War

The physical act of defection is usually in a manner which violates the laws of the nation or political entity from which the person is seeking to depart. By contrast, mere changes in citizenship, or working with allied militia, usually does not violate any law.

For example, in the 1950s, East Germans were increasingly prohibited from traveling to the Western Federal Republic of Germany where they were automatically regarded as citizens according to Exclusive mandate. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. An exclusive mandate is a government's assertion of its legitimate authority over a certain territory part of which another government controls with stable de facto The Berlin Wall and fortifications along the Inner German border were erected by the Communist East German Democratic Republic in 1961 to enforce the prison-like policy. The Berlin Wall (Berliner Mauer was a physical barrier separating West Berlin from the German Democratic Republic (GDR ( East Germany) including The inner German border ( German: Innerdeutsche Grenze or Deutsch-Deutsche Grenze, informal Zonengrenze) was an extensive system of fortifications The German Democratic Republic ( GDR; Deutsche Demokratische Republik DDR; commonly known in English as East Germany) was a Socialist state When people tried to "defect" from the GDR they were to be shot on sight. Several hundred people were killed along the border in their Republikflucht attempt. " Republikflucht " (flight from the republic and " Republikflüchtling(e " (fugitives from the republic were the terms used by authorities in the German Official crossings did exist, but permissions to leave temporarily or permanently were seldom granted. On the other hand, the GDR citizenship of some "inconvenient" East Germans was revoked, and they had to leave their home on short notice against their will. Others, like singer Wolf Biermann, were prohibited from returning into the GDR.

During the Cold War, the many people emigrating from the Soviet Union or Eastern Bloc to the West were called defectors. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 During the Cold War, the term Communist Bloc (or Soviet Bloc) was used to refer to the Soviet Union and countries it either controlled or that were The term Western world, the West or the Occident ( Latin: occidens -sunset -west as distinct from the Orient) can have multiple meanings Westerners defected to the Eastern Bloc as well: some of the more famous cases were British spy Kim Philby, who defected to Russia to avoid exposure as a KGB mole, and 22 Allied POWs (one Briton and twenty-one Americans) who declined repatriation after the Korean War, electing to remain in China. Harold Adrian Russell "Kim" Philby or HAR Philby ( OBE: 1946-1965 ( 1 January, 1912 – 11 May, 1988) KGB ( Transliteration of "КГБ" is the Russian abbreviation of Committee for State Security ( Komityet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosty This is a list of the twenty-two United Nations soldiers and POWs (one Briton and 21 Americans who declined repatriation to the United Kingdom and United States The Korean War refers to a period of military conflict between North Korean and South Korean regimes with major hostilities lasting from June 25 1950 until the

When the individual leaves his country and provides information to a foreign intelligence service, he is a HUMINT source defector. This article is a subset article under Human Intelligence. For a complete hierarchical list of articles see the intelligence cycle management hierarchy In some cases, defectors remain in the country or with the political entity they are against, functioning as a defector in place. This article is a subset article under Human Intelligence. For a complete hierarchical list of articles see the intelligence cycle management hierarchy

Political party defection

The term defection is also used to refer to the departure of a member from a political party to join another political party, typically because of discontent in his existing party. A political party is a Political organization that seeks to attain and maintain political power within Government, usually by participating in electoral Depending on position of the person, it may be given a different name, such as party switching or crossing the floor. In Politics, the term party-switching refers to any change in party affiliation of a partisan public figure usually one currently holding elected office In Politics, crossing the floor is to vote against party lines especially where this is considered unusual or controversial One famous political "defector" was Winston Churchill, who first entered Parliament as a Conservative in 1901, defected to the Liberals in 1904, and defected back to the Conservatives in 1925. Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC, PC (Can ( 30 November 1874 The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative and Unionist Party) is a Political party in the United Kingdom. The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the early 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s and a third party

See also

• Sociological definitions of apostasy
• List of Cold War pilot defections
• North Korean defectors
• Treason