Podcast: How open is our governance culture?
A ‘new governance culture’ – a hot topic for a number of years now. What kind of culture of public administration do we have in the Netherlands and how do you change it? This question is the focus of the podcast Het Spel & De Macht (the Game & the Power). Each episode considers one theme related to our governance culture. This week a new episode was broadcast which looked at confidentiality and transparency.
Public authorities in the Netherlands are trying to become more open by means of a ‘new governance culture’. But what does that actually look like? What are politicians now and in the future obliged to share with the public? What are they allowed to share, and what would they like to share? And does that mean calling a halt to backroom politics altogether, or will confidentiality remain necessary at times? Annemarie Drahmann, associate professor at Leiden University, and Eleni Braat, historian at Utrecht University, were the guests on this episode of the podcast.
Annemarie Drahmann explains how and why the Dutch Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob) was replaced by the Open Government Act (Woo) and the implications for politicians and journalists. Can Prime Minister Rutte keep deleting his text messages? And will his lost memos soon be a thing of the past?
Eleni Braat conducted research into the forerunner of the General Intelligence and Security Service (AIVD): the National Security Service (BVD). She explains how confidentiality works in that organisation. What can you, and can’t you, share with the outside world, and how can you then monitor the organisation itself?
Spel & De Macht is a podcast of the Centrum voor Nederlandse Politiek en Bestuur (Centre for Dutch Politics and Public Administration, CNPB) of Leiden University.
Listen to the episode (in Dutch) on confidentiality
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