
Secrecy and Open Government
Why Governments Want you to Know
K. Robertson(Author)
Palgrave Macmillan (Publisher)
Published on 8. March 1999
Book
Hardback
VIII, 202 pages
978-0-333-75367-5 (ISBN)
Description
Does the Labour Government's commitment to Freedom of Information mean the end of excessive secrecy in the UK? Why has Britain finally decided to join the many other countries that enjoy a 'right to know'? This book places the current UK debate over open government in its political context. Robertson argues that just as secrecy reflected the interests of the powerful, so too does freedom of information. This is a radical and challenging alternative to the conventional view that open government is concerned with empowering 'the people'.
More details
Edition
1999 edition
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Illustrations
VIII, 202 p.
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 140 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
422 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-333-75367-5 (9780333753675)
DOI
10.1057/9780230513020
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/1999
Palgrave Macmillan
€96.29
Available for download
Person
K.G. ROBERTSON previously taught sociology at the University of Reading and was Director of Security Studies in the Graduate School of European and International Studies. He now runs his own intelligence management consultancy,
AnalyticA Research
. In 1993 he formed the Security and Intelligence Studies Group (SISG), a specialist group of the Political Studies Association, which has established itself as the leading UK body for the academic study of security intelligence issues. He is the author of six book and many articles on aspects of risk, intelligence and secrecy. His books include
British and American Approaches to Intelligence
, and
Public Secrets - A Study in the Development of Government Secrecy
.
Content
Introduction The Mortality of Secrecy: The Philosophy and Politics of State Secrecy Surveillance and Secrecy The End of Whitehall? Reform of the British Civil Service Accountable Government? Data Protection, Privacy and Limited Rights of Access Listening in Official Secrecy Defending the Realm: MI5 The Democratisation of UK Intelligence? Overseas Experience: FOI in Canada, Australia and New Zealand Freedom of Information in the UK Conclusion Index