The call for total transparency is one of the main aims of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks (click here for their Agenda). An interview with Julia Horn, professor of cultural science and the author of “Der geheime Krieg – Verrat, Spionage und moderne Fiktion “, in the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” delivers the main aspects of the topic. Here is a summary of the interview (read the full interview here)
It is a paradox of democracy: on the one hand there are things which are spoken about in privacy, on the other hand there is a duty for transparency, because democracy gets is legitimation out of publicity and participation. Even secrets seem to be a contradiction to this legitimation, the state needs them because of various reasons, such as security and to protect the state´s aim in foreign affairs. But the problem with secrets is that it does besides being a shelter, also open ups the possibility for behaviour which is not in the line of common welfare such as corruption or crime in general. This loss of control is the main problem of secrets within a state. A state without any secrets, so called total transparency, a term coined by Julian Assange, would mean total surveillance, which nobody really wants.
WikiLeaks does not give the public in the western world a new structure. In fact, hence the Media is free and already published the documents, it is only an additional possibility to leak documents. Investigative journalism and leakings are not uncommen and happened plenty of times. The innovation leaking the documents through an independent platform is important for countries without a free press as a platform to reveal wrongdoings of the ruling class and can change the political structure heavily.
Written by Leaker3
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