Affiliations: [a] Utrecht School of Governance, Utrecht University,
Bijlhouwerstraat 6, 3511 ZC Utrecht, The Netherlands. Tel.: +31 253 14 33;
E-mail: [email protected]
| School of Governance, Utrecht University, The
Netherlands | Department of Statistics, Trinity College,
Ireland | Department of Public Administration, Erasmus
University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: Computer-mediated transparency is seen as a powerful tool to attain
policy goals and to transform government. This is based on the idea that
transparency is something good in itself, which can be attained by using ICTs
eventually improving government and citizen relations. This article claims that
although transparency of government is necessary, scholars and practitioners
tend to overestimate its positive effects and underestimate its negative
effects. There is no reason to believe that transparency is always a good
thing. Further, ICTs are not necessarily an effective means to increase
transparency; there is an increased risk of information overload, cyber
propaganda and inadvertent information release. Transparency might even drive
citizens away from government as it gives way to a 'gotcha' media culture and
political cynicism. Moreover, transparency has potential wide scale unforeseen
and unintended consequences which eventually may affect society and economy.
This is not a plea against transparency, but this article gives several
pointers that the risks involved with disclosing information are much more
complicated than the literature has yet fully acknowledged. This article
concludes that the future of transparency may be twofold: more transparency of
quantifiable performance indicators, but increased control of information flows
that are at the heart of governments.
Keywords: Transparency, demystification, ICTs, democracy, government
