Re: Not just restricted to governments
@ Christian Berger "Such things happen regularly at organisations. It's when people act according to rules. The German expression is "Dienst nach Vorschrift" which apparently translates as "work to rule"."
That reminds me of the saying, "Rules are for the guidance of wise men and the observance of fools".
Unfortunately the fools tend to be the middle management types who look scornfully on the knowledgeable people below them who are trying to get on with their jobs despite demands to follow the rules to the letter because they're not trusted to deviate a mm from them.