A Clarification of the Secrecy Debate

Abstract

This study had three aims: to identify the presuppositions on both sides of the dispute about secrecy; to assess philosophically these presuppositions in terms of stated principles of politics and government; and to assess the state and prospects of empirical inquiry regarding these presuppositions. Essentially two camps .emerge in the discussion about secrecy. The first camp is inhabited by those who demand an enduring transformation from secrecy to more openness in government . The second camp is inhabited by those who mostly defend secrecy as not only useful but necessary for efficacious governing. Each side presents reasons supporting their general positions. It is on these that the thesis is built. The reasons are presented in a list fashion, outlining the main "ingredients" of the debate. The differences and agreements serve as the basis for the analysis of their underlying features of principles, as well as for the outline of future research on questions which were raised in this thesis