Open Government

Research Note: Is Your Government Open or Closed? October 2011 2 A Is Your Government Open or Closed? The Making of a New Geopolitical Identity 21st Century Politics new era for government was marked when the Open Government Partnership (OGP) launched with a gathering of heads of state and senior officials in New York on September 20, 2011. The aim of this new multilateral initiative is “to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption, and harness new technologies to strengthen governance.” Eight founding members were involved in the voluntary partnership, including co-chairs United States and Brazil and members UK, Norway, Mexico, Indonesia, South Africa, and the Philippines. During the launch the eight founders released their plans and endorsed a joint Open Government Declaration outlining their principles. The declaration states, "We accept responsibility for seizing this moment to strengthen our commitments to promote transparency, fight corruption, empower citizens, and harness the power of new technologies to make government more effective and accountable." Figure 1 - Open Governments around the World In total, 46 nations voluntarily joined the partnership committing not only to open government in name and theory but also in action. The countries earning an “Open Government” status are displayed above in Figure 1 (online: interactive world map on open government).