Transparency is not about restoring trust in institutions. Transparency is the politics of managing mistrust.

In 2008, Putin's message was, 'We aren't like a Central Asian republic, we aren't going to build a personalistic regime, we will have institutions.' This is all abolished now. The very idea of a governing party and party career, as you have in China, that didn't work.

Any unveiling is also veiling. No matter how transparent our governments want to be, governments will be selectively transparent.

Ivan Krastev Quotes