The politics of freedom of information : how and why governments pass laws that threaten their power / Ben Worthy.

By:

Worthy, Ben [author.]

Material type: Text

TextSeries: Manchester Political StudiesPublisher: Manchester : Manchester University Press, 2017Description: 1 online resourceContent type:

text

Media type:

computer

Carrier type:

online resource

ISBN:

9781526108524
1526108526
9781526108517
1526108518
9781526124159
1526124157

Subject(s): Genre/Form:

Additional physical formats: Print version:: No titleDDC classification:

323.4450941 23

LOC classification:

KD3756 .W67 2017

Online resources:

Click here to access online

Contents:

FOI : hard to resist and hard to escape -- From radical to inevitable : the development of FOI in Britain -- New Labour, new openness? -- The 1997 white paper : a symbolic victory? -- The 1999 draft bill : the retreat becomes a rout -- The Parliamentary passage : asymmetric warfare -- FOI in the UK : survival and afterlife -- The US, Australia and India : two firsts and the greatest? -- Ireland and New Zealand : a legacy and an assault from within -- FOI and the remaking of politics -- Conclusion: Why do governments pass FOI laws?

Summary: "Why do governments pass freedom of information laws? The symbolic power and force surrounding FOI makes it appealing as an electoral promise but hard to disengage from once in power. However, behind closed doors compromises and manoeuvres ensure that bold policies are seriously weakened before they reach the statute book. This book examines how Tony Blair's government proposed a radical FOI law only to back down in fear of what it would do. But FOI survived, in part due to the government's reluctance to be seen to reject a law that spoke of 'freedom', 'information' and 'rights'. After comparing the British experience with the difficult development of FOI in Australia, India and the United States - and the rather different cases of Ireland and New Zealand - the book concludes by looking at how the disruptive, dynamic and democratic effects of FOI laws continue to cause controversy once in operation."-- Back cover.

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1. FOI: hard to resist and hard to escape 2. From radical to inevitable: the development of FOI in Britain 3. New Labour, new openness? 4. The 1997 White Paper: a symbolic victory? 5. The 1999 draft Bill: the retreat becomes a rout 6. The Parliamentary passage: asymmetric warfare 7. FOI in the UK: survival and afterlife 8. The US, Australia and India: two firsts and the greatest? 9. Ireland and New Zealand: a legacy and an assault from within 10. FOI and the remaking of politics Conclusion: why do governments pass FOI laws? References Index.

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"Why do governments pass freedom of information laws? The symbolic power and force surrounding FOI makes it appealing as an electoral promise but hard to disengage from once in power. However, behind closed doors compromises and manoeuvres ensure that bold policies are seriously weakened before they reach the statute book. This book examines how Tony Blair's government proposed a radical FOI law only to back down in fear of what it would do. But FOI survived, in part due to the government's reluctance to be seen to reject a law that spoke of 'freedom', 'information' and 'rights'. After comparing the British experience with the difficult development of FOI in Australia, India and the United States - and the rather different cases of Ireland and New Zealand - the book concludes by looking at how the disruptive, dynamic and democratic effects of FOI laws continue to cause controversy once in operation."-- Back cover.