revolving doors

Noun

revolving door (plural revolving doors)

1. A door that rotates around a central pivot.
2. (figuratively) A system or institution that people exit and immediately reenter.
   • Indeed, we happily condemn damaged children – at enormous expense – to hellholes like Feltham, where they are more likely to be assaulted or killed than to find an escape from the revolving doors of courts, prisons and addiction.2020 July 23, Chris Daw, “'A stain on national life': why are we locking up so many children?'”, in The Guardian
3. A movement of personnel between roles as legislators and regulators, on the one hand, and members of the industries affected by the legislation and regulation, on the other.
   • We've had 14 Secretaries of State through the revolving door in the first 23 years of this century. And the civil servants rotate through the departments with similar speed.2023 June 28, Anthony Smith talks to Paul Clifton, “The industry has to go back to basics”, in RAIL, number 986, page 40
4. Synonym of recidivism.

   Synonyms:

   recidivism