Open Government: The new clothes of the Emperor? The paradoxes of a paradigm under construction and its reflection in Latin America

Abstract

In recent years, the concept of open government has spread strongly and has been installed on the world political agenda in a surprising way. However, it is an idea and a model in the construction phase whose ambiguity and lack of consensus definition can significantly harm the potentialities attributed to it, as a new paradigm that allows building capacities to adequately take on the challenges of the 21st century, putting in practice the principles of transparency and openness, participation and accountability in public affairs. The article discusses the origins and scope of the concept and proposes an operational definition. In addition, and taking the case of the recently created "Open Government Partnership" (OGP), a framework of reference is proposed to evaluate the action plans that the Latin American countries have committed to join this initiative. In this perspective, the comparative analysis of action plans allows get lessons and learnings that can help strengthen and consolidate efforts to “open” governments in the region, from a vision linked to the concept of open and collaborative governance. Finally, we examine the possibility that under the label of open government can be promoted a new agenda for government reform and modernization of public administration in the coming years in Latin America.