OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY IN POLITICAL DECISION MAKING – AN EMPIRICAL STUDY THROUGH AN INSTITUTIONAL LENS

Anna Lundgren ()
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Anna Lundgren: Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

Romanian Journal of Regional Science, 2017, vol. 11, issue 1, 102-123

Abstract: Openness and transparency, i.e. free and fair elections and the idea of enlightened citizens that can hold governments accountable, are cornerstones in modern democratic thinking. However, the aspirations of openness and transparency also inherit challenges, also in Sweden considered being one of the most open countries in the world. This is also the case in a regional context, characterized by collaborative planning, multi-level governance and network governance. In this qualitative empirical study based on interviews with political leaders from the Stockholm region, it is explored how openness and transparency is interpreted in regional political decision making. An institutional framework of four levels of social analysis (Williamson, 2000) and theories relating to democratic ideal, governance and the public sphere are used to understand and explain the mechanisms operating when dealing with openness and transparency in political decision making.

Keywords: openness; transparency; institutions; regional government; regional policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: R50 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:rrs:journl:v:11:y:2017:i:1:p:102-123

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