strategy
Reducing government secrecy
Synonyms:
Exposing official secrecy Context:
Governments' obsession with secrecy has kept the governed from learning what their government is doing or has done, whilst national secrecy has been misused to cover up misguided policies and activities. Reducing government secrecy and increasing information flow to the public holds the government more accountable and permits the public to know what they need to know to control their government, or elect a new one. Reducing government secrecy is an essential element for democratic governance. In addition, keeping information secret can be very costly. For instance, the United States employs more than 32,000 full-time government employees to determine document classification status.
During the Cold War, many countries' levels of national security rose sharply. In the post-Cold War era, highly secretive and potentially unaccountable state structures and processes remain "embedded" in countries such as the United States, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom, that need to be reformed by making them more accountable and less secretive.
Implementation:
In April 1995, an executive order was signed by the USA President that would automatically declassify most existing secrets after 25 years, and require most future secret documents to be declassified after 10 years. Until recently, government documents could be kept secret for at least 30 years and were only declassified, if at all, after time-consuming review. The order would also prevent or hamper the development of new secrets by encouraging official challenges to overclassification by making classifiers justify what they classify and by expecting employees to challenge improper classification and be protected from retribution. The order furthermore establishes an interagency appeals council to hear challenges to classification, specifies sanctions for overclassification and creates a panel outside the government to recommend areas for systematic declassification. However, the measures allow important exemptions that can facilitate continued secrecy and its abuses.
Broader:
Exposing secrecy Constrains:
Maintaining official secrecy Facilitates:
Using secret diplomacyExposing military secrecyUsing secret policy-makingMaintaining secret sabotageMaintaining military secrecyExposing secret policy-makingExposing secret public recordsHolding government accountableMaintaining secret public recordsMaking secret international agreementsDenying democracy in communist systemsUsing covert intelligence agency operationsMaintaining secrecy over scientific activityDestabilizing governments by secret servicesProviding sufficient transparency in governmentReporting cooperation among intelligence agencies Facilitated by:
Ending environmental secrecyRespecting democratic processes Problems:
Abuse of government powerAbuse of power
Corruption in intelligence agencies
Covert imperialism
Covert intelligence agency operations
Covert transfer of strategic technology
Covert violation of international treaties
Inadequate control over government administrative process
Inadequate system of political checks and balances
Limited accountability of public services
Misuse of electronic surveillance by governments
Official cover-up of consequences of experiments
Official secrecy
Lack of transparency in public finances
Secret armies
Secret international agreements
Undue military influence
Unethical practices of government
Unethical practices of government leaders
Values:
SecrecyGovernmentSelf-government Subjects:
Defence → SecrecyGovernment → Government
Type Classification:
E: Emanations of other strategies Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
