Radical transparency and digital democracy: Wikileaks and beyond

This book explores the origins and consequences of WikiLeaks and other decentralized disclosure networks, highlighting the interplay between government technologies, media practices, and democratic assumptions. It offers insights and critiques of the transparency ideal through a material-political practice approach, examining how new forms of digital radical transparency emerge and contribute to democracy.

Format: Hardback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 04 August 2021
Publisher: Emerald Publishing Limited

In a world increasingly driven by data, this book delves into the realm of radical transparency, exploring its origins, evolution, and impact on democracy. It not only traces the journey of WikiLeaks, from its inception as a platform for whistleblowing to its eventual weaponization by the GRU, but also uncovers a host of decentralized disclosure networks that emerged in its wake. This narrative demands a reevaluation of the interplay between technologies of government, media practices, and democratic assumptions. By integrating literature from governmentality, media studies, and democracy, this illuminating account offers fresh perspectives and critiques of the transparency ideal through its material-political practice. Through case studies, it reveals how evolving media practices, even when derived from public records or leaks, continue to expose secrets. The narrative also explores the rise of new corporate players, such as Clearview AI, the civic-minded ICIJ, and state-based public health disclosures during pandemics, highlighting how they all constitute unique proto-institutional instances of disclosure as a technology of government. The analysis of novel forms of digital radical transparency, ranging from paper-based leaks to modern digital torrents, is rooted in analogues from the analogue past, providing a comprehensive account of how transparency functions and contributes to the formation of democracy.

Weight: 494g
Dimension: 162 x 237 x 24 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781800437630