Schmidt Discusses Transparency In the Eurozone on Podcast
On March 30, 2021, Vivien Schmidt, Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration and Professor of International Relations and Political Science at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, appeared on Oxford University Press’ Oxford Comment podcast to discuss government transparency and the freedom of information.
Schmidt was joined by Himanshu Jha, professor at at Heidelberg University’s South Asia Institute and author of Capturing Institutional Change: The Case of the Right to Information Act in India.
The two discussed government transparency and the flow of information from those in power to the citizens who ultimately give them power. Schmidt explained the importance of government transparency and how it plays into the public perception of leaders’ ability to lead. As she said, “if governments are perceived as unaccountable, as incompetent…that undermines both citizens’ perceptions of their representation and…their perceptions of policy performance.”
A recording of the podcast can be listened to below.
Vivien Schmidt is Professor of International Relations and Jean Monnet Professor of European Integration at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and was the first Director of BU’s Center for the Study of Europe, housed at the Pardee School. Schmidt’s research focuses on European political economy, institutions, democracy, and political theory—in particular on the importance of ideas and discourse in political analysis. Read more about Schmidt on her faculty profile.