Government Secrecy

Price: $65.00
ISBN13: 9781591586906
ISBN10: 1591586909
Book code: LU8690
Libraries Unlimited
Paperback | 820 pages
Publication Date: 12/30/2008

DESCRIPTION

Government Secrecy presents the best that has been thought and written on the subject, including history and philosophy, theory and practice, justification and critique. Through readings, which range from Georg Simmel on secrecy and Max Weber on bureaucracy and secret-keeping, to post-9/11 concerns regarding freedom of information and presidential secrecy, it enables readers to explore the issues and questions that surround the government's right to keep necessary secrets?or not.

This collection, and the diverse perspectives it represents, will engage students and other interested parties in a discussion of the benefits?and dangers?of government secrecy. The collection is designed to generate questions regarding historical accuracy of government information, information ethics, professional neutrality, ownership of information, public right to information, national security, and transparency. The essays explore the criteria and conditions for government secret-keeping, as well as contributing to public and academic discussion of the role of secrets in democracies.

Government Secrecy is designed to engage students and other interested parties in critical discovery of secrecy as an ongoing and potentially necessary form of government policy.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Steven Aftergood, Project on Government Secrecy, Federation of American Scientists

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1: Perspectives on Secrecy

Chapter 2: A Short History of Government Secrecy

Chapter 3: Secrecy as Regulation

Chapter 4: Organizational Aspects of Secrecy

Chapter 5: Necessary Secrets: Alternative Views on the Need for Secrets and Secret Keeping

Chapter 6: The Uncertain Future of Information: Secrecy Post 9-11

Appendix A: Major Reviews of the Secrecy System

Appendix B: Laws that Restrict Public Access to Federal Records

Sources

Glossary

Further Reading

Index