Transparency and Secrecy ─ A Reader Linking Literature and Contemporary Debate

"This is a very important and necessary book. Democratic governments require transparency-and, in some contexts, secrecy as well. Professor Suzzane J. Piotrowski, a leading researcher on transparency issues and author of Governmental Transparency in the path of Administrative Reform, has put together an excellent, highly readable, and balanced collection of materials that will enable students and scholars alike to analyze clearly questions of governmental transparency and secrecy from the municipal to multinational governmental levels. The book fills a major void in the extant literature and is eminently appropriate for courses in public administration, political science, and journalism."-David H. Rosenbloom, City University of Hong Kong: American University

"Transparency is one of the most important topics in contemporary debates about good governance. This is the first reader that canvasses the subject thoroughly. This volume is an outstanding resource for teachers and students."-Alasdair S. Roberts, Suffolk University Law School

Gaining access to government information is a perpetual concern of citizens. This is due in large part to the relationship between transparency and the issues of ethics, corruption, administrative malfeasance, and accountability. The past few years have proven that governmental transparency is a burgeoning academic subfield spurred on by contemporary political events and attention generated by the popular press. This reader addresses the topics of governmental transparency and secrecy and includes original discussion, classic readings, and primary source documents. Transparency and Secrecy is organized according to a theoretical model fully developed in the introduction. "Governmental transparency" is the degree to which access to government information is available through various channels. These avenues of access to information include governments proactively releasing information, freedom-of-information type requests, open meetings, and whistleblowing and leakes. This reader addresses each of these components as well as values that compete with openness, such as privacy, security, and efficiency.

The chapters begin with the presentation of cases to make the material relevant to students. The cases, together with the review of the literature, help readers understand how each aspect of transparency is relevant to contemporary public policy debaters. The discussion sections include brief summaries of the radings and place these within the scholarship at large. Integrative study questions, suggested class projects, recommendations for case studies, movies, and supplemental reading all make Transparency and Secrecy ideal for classroom adoption.

Suzanne J. Piotrowski is associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University, Newark Campus.

Suzanne J. Piotrowski is an associate professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at Rutgers University, Newark Campus.