Definition
Transparency is a polyvalent term, including a variety of policies mechanisms and social relations, which are in essence dealing with information availability. These include, for instance, Open Data platforms and Freedom of Information laws, but also large-scale information leaks. Transparency might vary in its objective, form, direction, and source depending on cultural and institutional contexts. Transparency serves in adjunctive capacities to benefit the quality of governance and effectiveness of management in both the public and the private sector.
While transparency is often used interchangeably with terms such as openness, publicity, or visibility, these are conceptually distinct. They should be seen as interrelated providing a deeper more nuanced understanding of the workings of transparency.
Transparency has a variety of conceptual roots from the enlightenment ideas to Anglo-Saxon liberalism, as well as more recent efforts for democratic reforms of governance systems.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Baume, S., & Papadopoulos, Y. (2012). Bentham revisited: Transparency as a “magic” concept its justifications and its sceptics. Paper presented at the Transatlantic Conference on Transparency Research, Utrecht University, Utrecht.
Birkinshaw, P. (2006). Freedom of Information and Openness. Fundamental human rights? Administrative Law Review, 58(1), 177–218.
Black, J. (1997). Transparent policy measures. In Oxford dictionary of economics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chambers, S. (2004). Behind closed doors: Publicity, secrecy and the quality of deliberation. The Journal of Political Philosophy, 12(4), 398–410.
Curtin, D. (2014). Overseeing secrets in the EU: A democratic perspective. Journal of Common Market Studies, 52(3), 684–700.
Fenster, M. (2015). Transparency in search of a theory. European Journal of Social Theory, 18(2), 150–167.
Flyverbom, M., Christensen, L. T., & Hansen, H. K. (2015). The transparency–power nexus: Observational and regularizing control. Management Communication Quarterly, 29(3), 385–410.
Fung, A., Graham, M., & Weil, D. (2007). Full disclosure: The perils and promise of transparency. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Grimmelikhuijsen, S., & Meijer, A. (2014). Effects of transparency on the perceived trustworthiness of a government organization: Evidence from an online experiment. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24(1), 137–157.
Habermas, J. (1991). The structural transformation of the public sphere. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Heald, D. (2006). Varieties of transparency. In C. Hood & D. Heald (Eds.), Transparency: The key to better governance? (pp. 25–43). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hood, C. (2006). Transparency in historical perspective. In C. Hood & D. Heald (Eds.), Transparency: The key to better governance? (pp. 3–24). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kaufmann, D., & Bellver, A. (2005). Transparenting transparency: Initial empirics and policy applications. https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=808664
Kopits, G., & Craig, J. D. (1998). Transparency in government operations. Washington, DC: International Monetary Fund.
Meijer, A., ‘t Hart, P., & Worthy, B. (2015). Assessing government transparency: An interpretive framework. Administration and Society, 50(4), 501–526.
Michener, G., & Bersch, K. (2013). Identifying transparency. Information Polity, 18, 233–242.
Naurin, D. (2007). Transparency, publicity, accountability – The missing links. Swiss Political Science Review, 12(3), 90–98.
O’Neill, O. (2006). Transparency and the ethics of communication. In C. Hood & D. Heald (Eds.), Transparency: The key to better governance? (pp. 74–90). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). (2013). Transparency and integrity in lobbying. https://www.oecd.org/corruption/ethics/Lobbying-Brochure.pdf
Pasquier, M., & Villeneuve, J.-P. (2007). Organizational barriers to transparency: A typology and analysis of organizational behaviour tending to prevent or restrict access to information. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 73(1), 147–162.
Prat, A. (2006). The more closely we are watched, the better we behave? In C. Hood & D. Heald (Eds.), Transparency: The key to better governance? (pp. 91–103). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Roberts, A. (2012). WikiLeaks: the illusion of transparency. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 78(1), 116–133.
Teurlings, J., & Stauff, M. (2014). Introduction: The transparency issue. Cultural Studies – Critical Methodologies, 14(1), 3–10.
Williams, A. (2015). A global index of information transparency and accountability. Journal of Comparative Economics, 43(3), 804–824.
Worthy, B. (2018). Transparency: Negotiating institutional domains (October 30, 2018). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3275200 or https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3275200
Further Reading
Etzioni, A. (2010). Is transparency the best disinfectant? The Journal of Political Philosophy, 18(4), 389–404.
Florini, A. (1998). The end of secrecy. Foreign Policy, 111, 50–63.
Meijer, A. (2013). Understanding the complex dynamics of transparency. Public Administration Review, 73(3), 429–439.
Pasquier, M., & Villeneuve, J.-P. (2007). Organizational barriers to transparency: A typology and analysis of organizational behaviour tending to prevent or restrict access to information. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 73(1), 147–162.
Schauer, F. (2010). Transparency in three dimensions. Baume Lecture at University of Illinois. https://illinoislawreview.org/wp-content/ilr-content/articles/2011/4/Schauer.pdf
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Villeneuve, JP., Heide, M. (2022). Transparency. In: Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C.S., Binderkrantz, A.S. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44556-0_72
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44556-0_72
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-44555-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-44556-0
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences