Secrets of Global Governance Allison Carnegie & Austin Carson 11 9 2020

Austin Carson and Allison Carnegie discuss "Secrets in Global Governance: Disclosure Dilemmas and the Challenge of International Cooperation." They were joined in conversation by Paul Poast. Presented in partnership with the University of Chicago Center for International Social Science Research and Seminary Co-op. November 9, 2020
cissr.uchicago.edu
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.
Austin Carson is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. He is the author of "Secret Wars: Covert Conflict in International Politics" (Princeton University Press, 2018).
Allison Carnegie is Associate Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. She is the author of "Power Plays: How International Institutions Reshape Coercive Diplomacy" (Cambridge University Press, 2015).
Paul Poast is an Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Chicago.