From information to predictability: transparency on the path to democratic governance. The case of Romania
| Date | 01 December 2018 |
| Author | Sabina Schnell |
| Published date | 01 December 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020852316648756 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
International Review of
Administrative Sciences
2018, Vol. 84(4) 692–710
!The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0020852316648756
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International
Review of
Administrative
Sciences
Article
From information to predictability:
transparency on the path to
democratic governance.
The case of Romania
Sabina Schnell
Syracuse University, USA
Abstract
This article proposes a new conceptual framework for assessing transparency at the
country level. It identifies three distinct interpretations of transparency: access to infor-
mation; two-way communication; and predictability, or decision-making based on clear
and publicly known rules. Each represents an increasingly demanding form of transpar-
ency, but all are tied to democratic accountability and the rule of law. Using the case of
Romania, the article illustrates how such a framework can be employed to assess the
evolution of transparency in a relatively recent democracy.
Points for practitioners
The virtues of transparency have been advocated by international organizations, gov-
ernments, and civil society. The focus has primarily been on access to informa-
tion—whether through freedom of information acts or open data. However, realizing
the democratizing potential of transparency requires a multifaceted approach. This
article suggests that transparency advocates should pay more attention to issues such
as increasing citizen participation, opening up decision-making rather than just data,
strengthening the rule of law, and fighting corruption. In other words, it argues for a
more holistic discourse and practice of transparency.
Keywords
access to information, accountability, democracy, open government, participation,
public values, transparency
Corresponding author:
Sabina Schnell, Syracuse University, 400C Eggers Hall, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA.
Email: dsschnel@syr.edu
Introduction
From the exponential spread of Freedom of Information Acts (FOIAs) since the
1990s to recent initiatives such as the Open Government Partnership, efforts to
increase government transparency have proliferated over the last two decades. The
popularity of ‘‘transparency’’ is due, in part, to its multifaceted nature, and to its
framing as both an intrinsic democratic value (Birkinshaw, 2006 ) and an instru-
mental value (Heald, 2006). While this multifaceted nature increases the popularity
of transparency, it also makes it difficult to assess actual government transparency
and to identify salient areas for reform.
To help address these challenges and deepen our understanding of transparency
as a democratic value, this article proposes a conceptual framework that combines
three related yet distinct perspectives on transparency: (1) access to information
(e.g. Meijer, 2013); (2) two-way communication (e.g. Coglianese, 2009); and (3)
predictability in decision-making (e.g. Hood, 2006). Each perspective represents an
increasingly complex interpretation, and each places increasingly strong demands
on governments, citizens, and civil society organizations (CSOs). Moreover,
although each perspective is discussed in the transparency literature, they are
rarely, if ever, discussed in tandem.
By bringing these perspectives together in a conceptual framework, this article
provides an approach for assessing the democratic value of transparency at the
macro-systemic, governmental level. To illustrate the value of this approach, the
article uses the framework to inform a case study of Romania, a relatively young
democracy with a growing focus on transparency efforts. The findings suggest that
a narrow focus on access to information can obscure the broader democratic
potential of transparency. If this potential is to be realized, transparency research-
ers and activists should consider how the principle of transparency is reflected in
mechanisms for citizen consultation, as well as in the broader system of rules and
procedures for public decision-making.
To this end, the article first details the conceptual framework by exploring the
three interpretations of transparency. It then uses the framework to investigate the
evolution of transparency in Romania over the last decades. It concludes with
recommendations for researchers and practitioners who want to strengthen the
nexus between transparency and democracy.
Transparency in government
Transparency, like other governance-related concepts, has a variety of meanings
that are often used inconsistently. Perhaps the most concise definition is ‘‘the ability
to find out what is going on inside government’’ (Piotrowski and Van Ryzin, 2007:
306).
Considerable research has focused on the micro-level of transparency (i.e. how it
is enacted in day-to-day administrative decision-making), but less research has
examined the macro-level of transparency (i.e. how it is codified in laws and
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