Toward a transparent and responsible public action? The case of open government partnership

Abstract

The Open Government Partnership (OGP) initiative was launched in 2011 to provide an international platform for domestic reforms committed to rendering governments more open, accountable, and responsive to their citizens. The idea of open government is not new and was originally seen as a matter of accountability. Recently, it has become a label for technological innovation and political accountability, and is often related to transparency, which does not necessarily equate to responsibility. This article aims to analyze what this approach means from the point of view of government responsibility, using comparative analysis based on three countries: US, Brazil and France. It endeavors to understand what underlays this initiative and to evaluate whether, and to what extent, it has altered the implementation of actions and contributed to make governments more “responsible”.