Politics of FOI Flashcards
why are they passed
naive governemnts
can be to access info once they are out of power
opening up equates to a loss of control
symbolism vs resistance
the radical modernising and democratic control puts it on the agenda
pressure builds when they commit to a reform
the values it emboddies make the accusations of betrayal easy and somewhat dangerous.
they are stalled an d blocked instead of being outright denied
symbolic politics and laws
alws are easy objects on which to displace strong anxieties and hope (edelman)
all symbols are a threat or a reassurance.
a vehicle for conveying a stronger message.
Edelman (1985) highlights laws as peculiarly symbolic objects that are often created through a mix of ‘symbolic effect and rational reflection’ (41). They ‘suggest vigorous activity’ and can cover ‘noisy attacks on trivia’ and represent ‘prolonged, repeated, well publicised attention to a significant problem which may never be solved’ (37–39). The names of laws themselves ‘are important symbols’ with ‘subtle and potent’ effects on interpretation
The ‘victory or defeat’ of symbolic policies is ‘consequently symbolic of the status and power of the cultures opposing each other … Legal affirmation or rejection is thus important in what it symbolizes as well or instead of what it controls’
symbolism of the first Clinton campaign to cut staff, The ‘victory or defeat’ of symbolic policies is ‘consequently symbolic of the status and power of the cultures opposing each other … Legal affirmation or rejection is thus important in what it symbolizes as well or instead of what it controls’
the radical roots
long been championed by radical reformers
2 revolutions the
-european reniassance
- scientifc revoltuion
the combination of the 2 gave it the intellectual push it needed.
the protestant movement used the press as a mass media to pursue overt propaganda.
when did it begin in the UK
1640 - the english revolotuion
pamphlets of info on everything. 2 psotmasters in each parish responsible for collecting and disseminating info.
james maddison
a popular gov without popular information or the means of acquiring it, is but a prologue to a farce or tragedy or perhaps both.
bentham
without publicity no good is permenant; under the auspices of publicity no evil can continue.
signalling and symbols
a chain of events towards a more accountable and democratic government.
the arrival of a new gov often ideologically different from it’s predeccesor will being foi law.
brings the idea the gov is more democratic.
Alongside this, FOI represents the ‘giving’ of a powerful new right. Its origins are as a negative right or as a bulwark to ‘prevent the manipulation of information’. However, FOI has gradually become recognised as a positive, if not a human, right. public pay for gov and abuse is theft of their goods.
foi symbolizes viewing the gov as an agent of the citizens for whom they work.
foi may increase public involvement and participation in decisions, increase public trust.
thomas jefferson - info is the currency of democracy.
contested transparency
general widespread agreement that public sector transparency means access to gov held information. How this info is actually used is highly contested.
There is a ‘general, widespread agreement that public sector transparency means access to government-held information’, but its ‘realization in terms of what, why and how information should be accessible is highly contested, and perhaps essentially contested.
As well as the meaning of openness, the implicit assumptions within such reforms are contestable and contested. Darch and Underwood describe them as an ‘ideologically determined political initiative that can be deployed to achieve a range of different agendas’ (2010, 49, 7). Classic arguments for FOI, rooted in rational choice assumptions of behaviour change, are bound up with neo-liberalism (Darch and Underwood 2010; Birchall 2014). FOI can have numerous different aims and purposes, from public monitoring to hierarchical control of lesser bodies (Heald 2012). More challenging approaches address the reversal of assumptions around who is being open to whom and debating the size of the political spaces opened (or closed) by its arrival (Birchall 2014). Transparency remains a ‘contested political issue that masquerades as an administrative tool’ (Fenster 2012b, 449).
symbolism meets institutions
sudden chnage is often preceded by gradual erosion of previous policy ideas. The passing of a policy is the beginning.
ideas are crucial elements in the battle to place issues on the agenda.
FoI and institutionalism
As Michener (2011) argues, the ‘primary dilemma is political. The symbolic qualities of FOI laws attract political support but the ideal effects – to expose the actions of politicians and bureaucrats to public scrutiny – weaken the will to enact strong laws’ (146). This is further complicated by a host ‘technical and legal issues’ that confront what can be a complex change.
transparency is not a sudden conversion but one created by the specific conditions of competition for political power. The symbolic quantities of FoI laws attract poltiical support but the ideal effects, weaken the will to enact strong laws.
pierson - secrecy is like an iceberg
FOI emerges slowly over time, gathering force over decades, in part through its own symbolic value, as a beacon of democracy and as a ‘right’. It can also be reinforced by failures of secrecy through scandals or very obvious attempts at oppression or suppression
trojan horses
reformers are frequently met with support from a ‘limited cohort of Ministers’, with a wider group making only ‘tokenistic public pledges’ and ‘bureaucratic responses [vary] from the lukewarm to the hostile’ (345–347). Most politicalleaders prefer secrecy to openness, this is why the promises of FOI can be delayed. competitive consensus between the parties can leave the windows open for longer.
the UK the most difficult case
the UK carried a rep as the most secretive democracy, the official secrets act was a big factor of this. on top of this were more than a hundred pieces of legislation that curb the flow of information.
he inherent secrecy of British government went deeper than individual laws or discretionary practice. Although it was an ‘inheritance from the past, from earlier undemocratic times … later Executive government … preserved the tradition of discretionary secrecy for their own convenience. info availability was not thought to be an important part of democratic life.
