Secrecy and government

"We open governments." - WikiLeaks slogan

Authoritarian regimes must necessarily operate in secrecy. This is because such regimes are in opposition to the public's interests, and catalyse forces among the people that oppose them. Successful regimes prevent this by concealing their activities from the people.

Hence, before authoritarian rule can creep in, government transparency and accountability would first need to be disposed of. Leaks force transparency and accountability, even when the government in question may not like it.

This is why WikiLeaks and its kin are so important - the make leaking easy by offering anonymity to sources, and doing the publishing themselves. They help prevent the kind of concealment that is necessary for an authoritarian regime to be viable, acting as safeguards to prevent democracies from turning into autocracies.

Julian Assange explains WikiLeaks' intentions in his own words here (pdf). It's worth reading.