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The Future of Transparency: Power, Pitfalls and Promises

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  • Arthur P. J. Mol

    (Arthur P. J. Mol is Chair and Professor in Environmental Policy at Wageningen University, the Netherlands, Scientific Director of the Wageningen School of Social Sciences, and Professor in Environmental Policy at Renmin University, China. His latest books are Environmental Reform in the Information Age (2008) and The Ecological Modernization Reader (with David A. Sonnenfeld and Gert Spaargaren; 2009).)

Abstract

The growing attention to transparency is not an accidental and fashionable wave, soon to be replaced by another timely topic in environmental governance. Transparency is here to stay and to further develop in environmental politics, as it piggy-backs on a number of wider social developments. In assessing the achievements of transparency to date, this article concludes that it has on balance been positive for democracy. But this overall positive past assessment does not automatically extend into the future, as new challenges (and thus new research agendas) lie ahead. The growing importance attached to transparency in environmental politics ensures that it becomes a central object of power struggles, with uncertain outcomes in terms of democracy as well as environmental effects. Markets and states seek to capture transparency arrangements for their own goals, which may not necessarily be in line with assumed normative linkages between transparency, democracy and participation. (c) 2010 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Suggested Citation

  • Arthur P. J. Mol, 2010. "The Future of Transparency: Power, Pitfalls and Promises," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 10(3), pages 132-143, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:tpr:glenvp:v:10:y:2010:i:3:p:132-143
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Laurent Glin & Arthur Mol & Peter Oosterveer, 2013. "Conventionalization of the organic sesame network from Burkina Faso: shrinking into mainstream," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 30(4), pages 539-554, December.
    2. Adam Bumpus & Thu-Ba Huynh & Sophie Pascoe, 2019. "Making REDD+ Transparent: Opportunities for MobileTechnology," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 19(4), pages 85-117, November.
    3. Philip Schleifer & Matteo Fiorini & Graeme Auld, 2019. "Transparency in transnational governance: The determinants of information disclosure of voluntary sustainability programs," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 13(4), pages 488-506, December.
    4. Higgins, Colin & Tang, Samuel & Stubbs, Wendy, 2020. "On managing hypocrisy: The transparency of sustainability reports," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 395-407.
    5. Gardner, T.A. & Benzie, M. & Börner, J. & Dawkins, E. & Fick, S. & Garrett, R. & Godar, J. & Grimard, A. & Lake, S. & Larsen, R.K. & Mardas, N. & McDermott, C.L. & Meyfroidt, P. & Osbeck, M. & Persson, 2019. "Transparency and sustainability in global commodity supply chains," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 163-177.
    6. Toonen, Hilde M. & Lindeboom, Han J., 2015. "Dark green electricity comes from the sea: Capitalizing on ecological merits of offshore wind power?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 1023-1033.
    7. Mitchell, Ronald B., 2011. "Transparency for governance: The mechanisms and effectiveness of disclosure-based and education-based transparency policies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 1882-1890, September.
    8. Frank Ebinger & Bramwel Omondi, 2020. "Leveraging Digital Approaches for Transparency in Sustainable Supply Chains: A Conceptual Paper," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(15), pages 1-16, July.
    9. Raoni Rajao & Yola Georgiadou, 2014. "Blame Games in the Amazon: Environmental Crises and the Emergence of a Transparency Regime in Brazil," Global Environmental Politics, MIT Press, vol. 14(4), pages 97-115, November.

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