RIGHT-TO-INFORMATION ARENAS: EXPLORING THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION IN CHILE, NEw ... PDF
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ʜ ʟɴɴ ʜʟ ɴɪ ɴ ʟɪɪʟ ɪɴ ʀɪɢʜ--ɪɴʀɪɴ ʀɴ: ʟʀɪɴɢ ʜ ʀɪɢʜ ɪɴʀɪɴ ɪɴ ʜɪʟ, ɴ ʟɴ ɴ ʀɢʏ ʙʀɪɪ ʀʟʟɪɴɪ ɴ ʜɪ ʙɪ ʜ ʀɴ ɢʀɴɴ ʜ ʟɴɴ ʜʟ ɴɪ ʀ ʜ ɢʀ ʀ ʜɪʟʜʏ, ʟɴɴ, ʙʀ DECLARATION IcertifythatthethesisIhavepresentedforexaminationfortheMPhil/Ph.D.degreeoftheLondon SchoolofEconomicsandPoliticalScienceissolelymyownworkotherthanwhereIhaveclearly indicatedthatitistheworkofothers(inwhichcasetheextentofanyworkcarriedoutjointlybyme andanyotherpersonisclearlyidentifiedinit). isthesisislicensedundercreativecommonslicence attribution-noncommercial-sharealike.International(CCBY-NC-SA.) Iwarrantthatthis authorisationdoesnot,tothebestofmybelief,infringetherightsofanythirdparty. Icanconfirm thatmythesiswascopyeditedforconventionsoflanguage,spellingandgrammarbyRichardGlyde andthecompanyEditage. StefanBauchowitzprovidedsupportwiththeuseofLaTex Ideclarethatmythesisconsistsofwords. Forafulldescriptionofthelicencefollowthislinkhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/.. ABSTRACT e Right to Information (RTI) – a right every individual has to access public information held by governments – is now established in more than countries. RTI laws set up a new logic in government: availabilityofpublicinformationistheprincipleandsecrecytheexception. RTIlaws createnewpublicinformationarenaswhereseveralactorsrequest,releaseandusepublicinformation for several purposes. In this work, I seek to explore why RTI arenas based on similar principles, workdifferentlyleadingtodifferentoutputs.Myexplanationisbasedonahistorical-institutionalist perspectivearguingthatoriginsoftheselawsandpreviousinstitutionalstructuresmatter. Iarguethat threefactorshelptoshapethesearenas: thelevelofparticipationinthepolicy-makingprocess,the professionalisationofstatebureaucracyandRTIenforcementinstitutions. ecombinationofthese factorsgivesusthreedifferentkindsofarenas:functional,mixedandcontested. Idevelopaconceptual framework,operatingatamiddle-rangetheorylevel,toanalysetheroleRTIlaws,requesters,the state,andtheexistenceofRTIenforcementinstitutionsplayineachconfiguration. Ishowhowthese arenasevolveandwork,runningastructuredandfocusedcomparisonofthreecasestudies: Uruguay, ChileandNewZealand. isworkshowshowthesearenasendedupdifferinginoutputssuchas availabilityofpublicinformationandefficiencyinprocessingRTIrequests,aswellastheexistenceof effectiveaccountabilitymechanismstoresolvedisputesaboutpublicinformation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Inthecourseofthisresearch,Ihaveacquiredmanydebts. Iwascarefultowritethemdown,butitis verylikelythatthefollowinglistwillnotcoverallofthemnorIwillbeabletorepaythem. Inthis age,afterall,wearealwaysindebtedtosomeone. Aresearchprojectcannotbedeliveredwithoutsponsors,towhomIamverygrateful. Uruguayan citizenscontributedtothisresearchthroughtheCarlosQuijanoscholarship(MinistryofEducation andCulture)andtheAgencyforResearchandInnovation(ANII)scholarship.Britishtaxpayersalso contributedthroughtheLSEgovernmentdepartmentscholarship.eLSEtravelsupportscholarship, theLSE–SantanderTravelFundandtheECPRPh.D.scholarshipallowedmetocarryoutfieldwork researchandtakepartinseminarsandconferencesrelatedtothistopic. Inaddition,MarcosScrollini and Juana Martinez (my grandparents) contributed in decisive moments to this Ph.D. with part oftheirsavings. Administrativestaffmanagingthesescholarshipswereverypatient. Inparticular, GeorginaLazarini,GracielaVernengo,MadeleineBoth,JosephineBurchellandImogenWitherswere excellentliaisonswithintheseinstitutions. SilvanaFumegaandAndrewEcclestoneintroducedmetothistopiceightyearsago. Iamthankful fortheirencouragementandfriendshipthroughoutthisprocess. Bothprovidedcommentsthathave improvedmyunderstandingofthisfield. AndrewandhiswifeZiawerekindenoughtohostme duringpartofmyfieldworkinNewZealand. RobLaking,BobGregoryandConradoRamostrusted metofinishaPh.D.IhopeIhavehonouredthistrust. Robalsoprovidedextensivecommentsand kindsupportthroughthisresearch. ColeenLakingwasalsokindenoughtoletmestayattheirhome whendoingfieldwork. WhenIfirstarrivedatthisUniversity,IhadtheprivilegeofmeetinganexceptionalcohortofPh.D. students. Inparticular,Isharedthesejoyfulearlydays(andsomenot-so-joyfulfollowingyears)with GustavoBonifaz,LauraRobbins,FelineFreier,MohanadHageAli,MiranNordelan,SashaPerson, Suzanne Morrison and Caroline Armstrong. It has been a long journey, and it was great to share thiswiththem. WhenIlookedforaphysicalspacetoworkinatthisUniversity,Iwasdrawntoa particularroomknownasH(technicallyHandtodaynolongerexistent). isroomhada strangedynamicofitsown. JoseOlivaswaskindenoughtowelcomemeandshowedmetheropesof LSEacademicandadministrativelife,amongmanyotherthings. Iamreallythankfultohimforall hishelp. Inthisroom,Imetpeoplefromdifferentbackgroundswhochallengedmyideas,sharedtheir thoughts(includinginallsortsofoff-topicconversations)suchasLilaCaballero,JulioGonzalez,Ting Luo,AshikurRahman,MatthewWhiting,JohanessWolff,UrsulaDurand,MartaWojciechowska, Pinar Dinc, Ellie Knott, Randi Solhjell, Gisela Calderon, Kathleen Henehan, , Martin Williams, KennethBunker, EdGareth, MariaBrock, IzabellaCorrea, PonSouvannaseng, JoyceSuhjinLee, DominikaSpyratou,MariaKyriakidou,PaolaRomero,AnahiWiedenbrug,HolkeBrammerand KateAlexander. InH,JurgenBraunsteinandNinfaFuentesprovidedthemostentertaining(and caustic)commentsaboutacademicandworldlymattersthroughthetimeIwasworkinginthisPh.D. Ievenmanagedtounderstandabitof‘quant’politicalsciencethankstoIgnaziodeFerrari. Stefan BauchowitzshowedmethevirtuesofLaTeXandparsimony. BenWorthyandTomMcCleankindlyinvitedmetotheworkshopstheyorganisedatUCL,which playedanimportantroleinmyunderstandingofRTIinBritainandelsewhere. Benwasalsovery generous in introducing me to new literature and sharing his thoughts on this matter, as well as connectingmewithotheracademicsinthisfield. ItookpartinpanelsattheTransparencyConference in New York (), Utrecht () and Paris (), as well as in a workshop at the University ofLausanne,kindlyconvenedbyAlbertMeijer,PatrickVilleneuveandMartialPasquier. Iwishto thanktheparticipantsinthesepanelsandtheconvenerswhocontributedtochallengingmythinking aroundthistopicandsharedtheirinsightsonthismatter. ExchangeswithGregMicheneralsohelped metounderstandmoreaboutthisliterature. Inthecontextoftheseconferences(andbeyondthem),I hadseveralexchangeswithMarcosMendiburuandHelenDarbishire. Marcoswasalwayssupportive ofthisresearchandgenerouslyprovidedcommentsonseveralchapters. Helenhasbeenextremely supportiveandIadmireherprofessionalismandhardworkinthisfield. IamalsoverythankfultotheBritishNGOMySociety,inparticulartoTonyBowden,forsharing and explaining the virtues of what was then a fairly unknown software called Alaveteli. Gabriela Rodriguez(asoftwareengineerandfriend)andIsetuptheprototypeusingAlavetelifortheUruguayan casestudy,alsodrawingonthepreviousworkdevelopedbyDavidCaboandVictoriaAndericawith AccessInfoinSpain. Withoutthiswork,theUruguayancasestudywouldnothavehadaccesstoany reliabledataaboutFOIrequests. WorkingwithGabriela,inthoseearlydaysandnow,hasbeenfun, challengingandaprivilege. InUruguay,theFOIwebportalquesabes.uybasedonthissoftwarewas finallymadepossiblebyDATA,alocalNGO.MarianaMas,DanielCarranza,FernandoUvaland VictoriaEsteves,dearfriendsandcolleagues,madethepushtolaunchtheportal,addingtheirvaluable expertiseinpolicy,communications,designandsoftwareengineering. isinitialcollaborationled to more adventures together until today. I would also like to express my gratitude to a group of volunteers,includingJuanBorchard,MartinCedesandJavierGomez,whospenttimefixingbugs andhelpingwiththeusabilityofthiswebsite. ChristianSchuster,mycolleagueinthisPh.D.programme,providedearlycommentsonpartof this work, which helped to frame my thinking. Nicolas Trajtenberg – also a Ph.D. student on a differentjourney–crossedhisacademicboundariestodiscussmethodologyinsocialscienceswith me. TimDavies-anotherPh.D.studentanddearcolleague-providedcommentsonaninitialpaper onthismatter. InUruguay,IamparticularlygratefulfortheadvocacyworkEdisonLanza(CAINFO)developed tosupportquesabes.uy,aswellasforhisassistanceintheUruguayancasestudyintermsofresearch andpreviousworkwedevelopedtogether. TaniadaRosa,alsofromCAINFO,sharedherinsights aboutRTIintheUruguayancasestudy. AlsoinUruguay,IwanttothankKarenVanRompaeyfor herassistance(andcheerfulwords)duringthisresearch,aswellasCarolinaVeigaforherassistance onseveralresearchmatters. CivilservantsworkinginRTIingovernmentsuchasVirginiaPardo, MarianaGattiandGabrielDelPiazzowerealsoverykindinsharingtheirworkandinformation. PabloLandoni’sviewalsocontributedwhenwedevelopedanarticleoneducationandRTIforthe Uruguayancase. AttheUniversityoftheRepublic,PedroNarbondo,ConradoRamosandGuillermo Fuentesallowedmetoorganiseaworkshoptosharemyideasandprovidedveryconstructivefeedback. Dr. GuillermoMoncecchireadthisdraftforfunandprovidedveryvaluablecomments. Iamalso thankfultotheparticipantsofseveralworkshopsorganisedbytheUruguayangovernmentandDATA Uruguayfortheirinsights. InChile,IamindebtedtoKennethBunkerwhohostedmeandhelpedmetogetthebasicsof Chilean politics. Pablo Capomassi kindly provided a place to stay. My colleague Daniela Costa enlightenedmeabouttherealityofChileanpublicadministration. FelipeHeusserandtheteamof CiudadanoInteligentesharedtheirinsightswithmeabouttheirwebsiteplatformandwork. Maria SotomayorwaskindenoughtotranslateintoEnglishsomefairlycomplexwordsin‘chilensis’. Rafael PastorwasverygenerousinsharinghisknowledgeaboutpublicmanagementinChile. eteam fromProAcceso,XimenaSalazarinparticular,werealsoveryhelpful. ClaudiaLagosandherteamat theUniversityofSantiagoexplainedthecontextandcontentoffreedomofexpressioninChile,as didMiguelPazfromelMostradorandPoderopedia. EoloDiazTenderoandCarolinaGarciaatthe CouncilforTransparencykindlyprovidedmewithmaterialsandexplainedthecontextoftheirwork. JuanPriceandhisfamilywelcomedmeintheirhome,andmademefeellikejustanothermemberof thefamilyduringmystay. InNewZealand,IwouldliketothankthestaffofVictoriaUniversityofWellingtonLibrary(Old Building)whoworkedhardtosecureaccesstolong-forgottenthesesandmanuscripts. DavidClemens providedmewithabibliographyfortheNZcasestudyandaveryusefulquote. eOfficeofNew ZealandOmbudsmanallowedmetotakepartintheInternationalOmbudsmanConferenceinNew Zealand,whichwasessentialtocarryoutfieldwork. IamalsoindebtedtoProfessorChrisEichbaum whohelpedtounderstandmoreabouttheNewZealandcontext. Rob(@delineator)alsoshowed methecommitment(andoccasionalfrustration)activistscanhavewhendealingwithRTIinNew Zealand. IamalsothankfultotheeditoroftheblogNortighturnforsharinghisknowledge. DuringthecourseofthisPh.D.,Ialsohadtheopportunitytoactasagraduateteachingassistant atGV,acourseconvenedbyProfessorEdwardPageandProfessorMartinLodge,whereIalso workedwithmycolleagueJulieVogt. ecourseaddedtomyunderstandingofpublicpolicyand teaching. Iamthankfultotheconvenersandmyteachingcolleaguesandtothestudentswhotook partinthecourse. Afterthisworkwasdefended,ProfessorAlasdairRobertsandProfessorMartinLodgeprovided valuablecommentsthatIhaveincorporatedinthistext. Lastbutnotleast,IwouldliketothankmysupervisorProfessorFranciscoPanizzaandmyadviser ProfessorEdwardPage. ProfessorPanizzacarriedouthisdutyasasupervisorwithpatience,diligence, empathy,andgenerosity. Overtheyears,Ilearnedagreatdealfromhisacademicandpersonalvirtues. Franciscofollowedtheevolutionofthisworkthroughversionafterversion,providingfeedbackat everystepandchallengingmetoimproveit. ProfessorPagealwayshadakindword,constructive feedback and kept advising me on how my work could be improved. His timely interventions contributedtosteerthisprojectinwhatIhopeistherightdirection. Someearlyandsmalldecisionsmatter. Myparents,MirtaandAlfredo,decidedIshouldstudy Englishandfosteredmycuriosity. Iamindebtedtothemformakingsuchdecisionsandtheirsupport throughout this project. On a deeply personal note, I would like to thank Ana and Odin. Ana – my partner – went through this Ph.D. with me with all that this implies. Her love enhanced my commitmenttofinishthiswork.Shealsowentthroughthemanuscriptlookingfortyposandensuring referenceswereintherightplace. Idon’tseehowIcouldhavefinishedthisendeavourwithouther support. Odin – our small dog – came into our lives a little later. A faithful (yet mischievous) companion,wespentseveralmorningstogetherwritingandeditingthispiece. Afinalthanksshould gotothosewhowillremainunnamedandtrustedIwouldrepresenttheirviewsfairly. Needlessto say,allthemistakesanderrorsinthisworkremaintheresponsibilityoftheauthor. London–Montevideo–SomewhereovertheAtlanticOcean F.S.M. CONTENTS ɪɴʀɪɴ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Righttoinformation: historyandcontextofamulti-disciplinaryfield . . . . . . . . . Comparativeaccesstoinformation: thestateofthefield . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Overviewofthiswork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʀɪɪɢɴ-ʜ-ʀɪɴ ʀɴ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DefiningRTIarenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . PrinciplesofRTIlaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . OndifferenttypesofRTIarenasanddifferentoutputs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Participationinthepolicymakingprocess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Professionalisationofthestatebureaucracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. eexistenceofRTIenforcementinstitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. reedifferentconfigurations: Functional,mixedandcontestedarenas . . . . ElementsinRTIarenas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Right-to-informationlaws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. DemandinginformationinaRTIarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. RTIEnforcementinstitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Feedbackloops: changeandcontinuityinaRTIarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʜʟɢʏ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acomparativeapproach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Researchdesign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Datagathering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʜ ʟɪɪ ɴʜɪɴ ɪɴ ɴ ʟɴ(ʀ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . equestforaccesstoinformation: theemergenceoftheNewZealandRTIarena . .. Aworldofsecrecy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. A‘fairgo’inNewZealand: RTIandtheeventsthatunchainedchange . . . .. epolicymix: civilsocietyandunexpectedpolicyentrepreneurs . . . . . . .. Anabsentpoliticalwill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eNewZealandRTIarena: – . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. NewZealandRTIlaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Contents .. estate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Demandinginformation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Snipersandinnocentrequesters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. RTIEnforcementinstitutionintheNewZealandRTIarena . . . . . . . . . eevolutionoftheNewZealandRTIarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Feedbackloops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Aotearoa: sunshineatitsbest,yetalongwhitecloud . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʙʟɪ ɪɴʀɪɴ ɪɴ ʜɪʟ:ɪ ʀɴ . . . . . . . . . . . Context: democracyintransition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. e‘windowofopportunity’forRTIinChile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Chile’sRTIarena. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ChileanRTIlaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. eChileanstate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. DemandinginformationintheChileanRTIarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. CouncilforTransparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Conclusion: Amixedarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʀɢ:ʏɴ ʀɪ ʀɴ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Publicsecrets‘alauruguaya’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . TowardsaRTIreform: firststepsandnoopportunityforreform . . . . . . . . . . .. Policyentrepreneursgetorganised . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. PoliticsandpolicyintheSenate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eUruguayanRTIarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. UruguayanRTIlaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. eUruguayanstate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. DemandinginformationintheUruguayanRTIArena . . . . . . . . . . . .. Aweakenforcementinstitution: APIUandtheroleofthejudiciary . . . . . . Uruguay: initialfeedbackloops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AcontestedRTIarena . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʀɪ ʀɴ:ʀɪ ʀɪ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ElementsconfiguringaRTIarena: participation,statebureaucracyandRTIenforce- mentinstitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. Participationinthepolicymakingprocess . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Professionalisationofthestatebureaucracy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . RTIEnforcementinstitutions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Actors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ChangeinaRTIarena: feedbackloops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DifferentRTIarenasworkingdifferentleadingtodifferentoutputs . . . . . . . . . ɴʟɪʀ:ɴɪɪɢɴ-ʜ-ʀɪɴ ʀɴ ʀɪɪ . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maincontributionsofthisworkinthecontextofthecurrentstateoftheliterature . . eimplicationsofthisresearchforpractitioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ɴɴ . Futureresearch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ʙɪʙʟɪɢʀʜʏ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ɴɴ: ʟɪ ɪɴɪ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
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