Secrets in Global Governance
Disclosure Dilemmas and the Challenge of International Cooperation

Secrecy in international organizations foster information disclosures and cooperation in areas from nuclear weapons to international trade.

Allison Carnegie (Author), Austin Carson (Author)

9781108745949, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 18 June 2020

362 pages, 18 b/w illus. 13 tables
22.8 x 15.3 x 2 cm, 0.52 kg

'… a fine contribution to the study of global governance and of secrecy in international relations. Moving the examination of secrecy issues beyond the nation-state level, the book offers considerable food for thought for further normative analysis of the shadow realms of international politics.' Claudia Hillebrand, Perspectives on Politics

Scholars have long argued that transparency makes international rule violations more visible and improves outcomes. Secrets in Global Governance revises this claim to show how equipping international organizations (IOs) with secrecy can be a critical tool for eliciting sensitive information and increasing cooperation. States are often deterred from disclosing information about violations of international rules by concerns of revealing commercially sensitive economic information or the sources and methods used to collect intelligence. IOs equipped with effective confidentiality systems can analyze and act on sensitive information while preventing its wide release. Carnegie and Carson use statistical analyses of new data, elite interviews, and archival research to test this argument in domains across international relations, including nuclear proliferation, international trade, justice for war crimes, and foreign direct investment. Secrets in Global Governance brings a groundbreaking new perspective to the literature of international relations.

1. Introduction
2. Theory
3. Sensitive Information in Global Governance: The Past and Present
4. Nuclear Proliferation
5. International Trade
6. War Crimes
7. Foreign Direct Investment
8. Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Public international law [LBB], Political economy [KCP], International relations [JPS]