Blacked Out
Subtitle: Government Secrecy in the Information Age
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: January 30, 2006
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 334
ISBN-13: 9780521858700
Subjects: Political control & freedoms; Politics/International Relations; Official secrets; Political Science; Politics / Current Events; Transparency in government; General; Law / General; Government - General; Freedom of information
First sentence: The village of Kelwara sits in the arid folds of the Aravalli mountains in the southern part of the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Description: Nearly forty years ago the U.S. Congress passed the landmark Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) giving the public the right to government documents. This 'right to know' has been used over the past decades to challenge overreaching Presidents and secretive governments agencies. The example of transparency in government has served as an example to nations around the world spawning similar statues in fifty-nine countries. This book examines the evolution of the move toward openness in government. It looks at how technology has aided the disclosure and dissemination of information. The author tackles the question of whether the drive for transparency has stemmed the desire for government secrecy and discusses how many governments ignore or frustrate the legal requirements for the release of key documents. iBlackoutsi is an important contribution during a time where profound changes in the structure of government are changing access to government documents.