The Illusion of Accountability

Abstract

Does open governance strengthen democracy? The Illusion ofAccounta- bility contends that it does not. Leveraging a wealth of data from decades of legislative politics in the American states, the book assesses the causes and consequences of “open meetings laws,” which require public access to proceedings in state legislatures. The work traces the roots of these laws back to the founding constitutions of some states and analyzes the waves of adoptions and exemptions to open meetings that occurred in the twen- tieth century. The book then examines the effects of these transparency laws on a host of politically consequential outcomes both inside and out- side the legislature. This analysis consistently finds that open meetings do not influence legislators’ behavior or citizens’ capacity to alter that behav- ior. Instead, a link between transparent legislatures and an expanded system of organized interests is established. This illuminating work con- cludes that transparency reform only creates the illusion of accountability in state government.