This paper interrogates discourses associated with encryption in contemporary policy debates. It traces through three distinct cryptographic imaginaries – the occult, the state, and democratic values – and how each conceptualises what encryption is, what it does, and what it should do. Situating each imaginary in time through historical research, I consider how they foreground distinct configurations of power and authority. It concludes by describing the development of a new cryptographic imaginary, one which sees encryption as a necessary precondition for the formation of networked publics.

中文翻译：

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加密假想和网络公众

本文审视了当代政策辩论中与加密有关的论述。它追溯了三个不同的密码学假想–神秘学，国家和民主价值观–以及每个概念如何概念化什么是加密，加密做什么以及应该做什么。通过历史研究，将每一个虚构的事物及时定位，我考虑它们如何呈现出权力和权威的不同配置。最后，通过描述一种新的加密虚拟技术的发展来结束，这种虚拟技术将加密视为形成网络公众的必要前提。