A cabal is a "small group of secret plotters, as against a government or person in authority." [1] The formation of a cabal can be a rational response to repression.
The word originates from the Hebrew Kabala via the French cabale.
See Fifth Column
The term was also used on Usenet groups to satirise the paranoia that surrounded the early internet, and conspiracy theories in general. A mysterious 'cabal' of users who secretly ran the internet was referred to, but their existence was denied, usually with the phrase 'There Is No Cabal'.[2]