Freedom of Information This posting covers a fascinating area of
activity for access organizations like the National Security
Archive – the international freedom of information movement.
Toby McIntosh, a colleague and expert who edits
“freedominfo.org,” a FOI clearinghouse sponsored by the Archive,
is my co-author on today’s piece, which gives a broad overview
of transparency developments overseas. [By the way, this is our
last posting about the National Security Archive. It’s been a
pleasure to be a guest blogger this month and I’m grateful to
James Jacobs for the invitation. Hope to hear from you or see
you at Gelman Library at George Washington University!] * * * *
STATE OF PLAY Most Americans would likely agree that the right
of access to government information is a cornerstone of our
political system. But it would probably surprise a lot of people
to know that the U.S. was not the first country to inscribe the
concept into law. That honor goes to Sweden whose Parliament –
in 1766 – adopted “His Majesty’s