A Partial Revolution: The Diplomatic Ethos and Transparency in Intergovernmental Organizations

Abstract

The World Trade Organization and other intergovernmental organizations confront a crisis of legitimacy that is partly rooted in their perceived secretiveness. These organizations have attempted to address this crisis by promising "the maximum possible level of transparency." In fact, improvements in transparency have been modest. Policies regarding access to information about IGO operations continue to accommodate conventions of diplomatic confidentiality. Such conventions are more likely to be breached in areas where disclosure of information is essential to the project of economic liberalization. A true "revolution" in transparency would require more rigorous policies on disclosure of information held by IGOs such as the World Trade Organization, and could be justified as a prerequisite for the exercise of basic human rights, such as the right to participate fully in the policymaking process

Keywords: transparency, freedom of information, right to information, government secrecy, international organizations, international financial institutions