Executive Secrecy and Democratic Politics: Arguments and Practices in the German Bundestag

Acknowledgements
Contents
Abbreviations
List of Figures
List of Tables
1 Introduction: Executive Secrecy and Democratic Politics
	References
2 Theorising and Studying Democratic Secrecy
	From Arcana Imperii to Publicity
	Substantive Legitimation of Executive Secrecy
		Quality of the Decision-Making Process
		Quality of Outcome: Effective and Efficient Decisions
		Third-Party Interests
	Procedural Legitimation of Executive Secrecy
	How to Study Secrecy? A Research Framework for Investigating Its Legitimation
	References
3 Legitimising Intelligence Agency Secrecy
	Substantive Legitimation: Controversies Concerning Secrecy’s Benefit for Security
		Security
		International Cooperation and Third-Party Interests
		Securing Separation of Powers: The Kernbereich Argument
	Patterns of Debating Secrecy
		Ideological Conflict Lines
		Conflict Lines Along Institutional Roles
	Legislation as Procedural Legitimation
		Secrecy Legislation as a Source of Legitimacy and Its Conditions
		Opposition Support for Legislation as a Source of Procedural Legitimation
	Parliamentary Scrutiny as Procedural Legitimation
		Access to Information
		Human Resources
		Sanctioning Power
		Opposition Rights
	Intelligence Secrecy—Between Substantive Contestation and Procedural Enclosure
	References
4 Legitimising Public–Private Partnerships Secrecy
	Economic Interests as Substantive Legitimation of PPP Secrecy
		Trade and Business Secrets
		Fiscal Interests of the State
		Kernbereich Secrecy
	Patterns of Debating Secrecy
		Ideological Conflict Lines
		Conflict Lines Along Institutional Roles
	Limited Procedural Legitimation Through Legislation
	Fragmented Parliamentary Scrutiny
	Public Private Partnership Secrecy—In Want of Procedural Enclosure
	References
5 Patterns and Limits of Legitimising Executive Secrecy
	Comparing Substantive Legitimation of Executive Secrecy
		General Patterns
		Partisan Conflicts
		Conflicts Based on Parliamentary Roles
		Missing Agreement on Substantive Legitimation
	A Matter of Democratic Practice–Procedural Legitimation of Executive Secrecy
		Legislation: Making Rules on Secrecy and Secret Action
		Parliamentary Scrutiny: Detecting Transgressions
	Why Procedural Legitimation Does Not Solve All Problems of Executive Secrecy—Structural Limits of Parliamentary Legitimation
		The Problem of Executive Compliance
		Reluctance to Legislate
		The Problem of Information Control
		The Paradox of Publicity as a Sanctioning Power
	Key Findings on Secrecy and Its Legitimation
	References
6 Avenues for Research and Political Practice
	Starting Points for Further Research
		International Comparison of Secrecy Cultures and Frameworks
		Comparison Across Multiple Policy Fields
		Day-to-Day Executive Practices
		Democratic Scrutiny Beyond Parliament
	Potential Consequences for Political Practice
		Setting Up Proxy-Monitoring Frameworks
		Solving the Third-Party Problem: Contractual Implications
		Democratic Discourse on Secrecy as Prerequisite of Legitimising Secrecy
	References
Annexes
Annex 1: List of Motions in the Intelligence Agencies Case
Annex 2: Interview Guideline
Interview Guideline Overview
Example Guideline
Annex 3: Use of Different Mechanisms of Parliamentary Scrutiny 1998–2013