Transparency and the impact of international organizations on democratic consolidation

The dissertation is driven by an intriguing puzzle: Why is it that many new democracies have so quickly adopted domestic institutions that encourage government transparency? (I define transparency as the ability of any citizen to access government held information). It is surprising considering that many of the traditional democracies have only very recently adopted such institutions and others have not adopted them even today.; Are the explanations found in the existing political science literature able to account for the changes in domestic transparency? In addressing this question, I examine the direct role that IOs have had in the increased domestic transparency. I show that the traditional mechanisms through which IOs have been considered to affect domestic developments in new democracies (conditionality and norm export) cannot explain developments with regard to domestic transparency. I also take into account several domestic determinants related to the processes of privatization, relationship between executive and legislative branches of government and existence of other democratic institutions. I show how these factors can only offer partial explanations for the increase in domestic transparency.; I offer an alternative explanation. I argue that, due to the growing demands for information by international organizations, and to the increasing flow of information from IOs directly to societies, governments become caught up in a “two level information game.” When they offer information at the international level they must now take into account how this information will impact on domestic politics. By joining or attempting to join such organizations, elites' cost-benefit calculations with regard to information flows at the domestic level are altered and the likelihood of adopting laws supporting transparency increases.; The study uses the empirical findings to discuss the broader implications of changes in flows of information (i.e. transparency) between societies, governments, and international organizations. My conclusions help us better understand the processes leading to democratic consolidation at the domestic level, as well as the changes in the role of IOs as related to questions of global governance.