Book Review: Bailey, D. (2004). The Open Society Paradox: Why the 21st Century Calls for More Openness—Not Less. Washington, DC: Brassey's, pp. 240

• Published date: 01 December 2007
• DOI: 10.1177/0734016807310651
• Date: 01 December 2007
• Author: Paul T. Jaeger
• Subject Matter: Articles

As detailed in chapters 9 through 12 and the Epilogue, the Filártiga precedent and its prog-

eny are changing that realpolitik tradition of impunity. Staff at the Center for Constitutional

Rights produced the initial, compelling legal arguments. Twice before—involving My Lai

and the assassination of Salvador Allende—Peter Weiss had failed to get standing based on

the federal Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) of 1789 that reads: “The district court shall have

original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of

the law of nations or a treaty of the United States” (pp. 213-214). Finally, at the district and

circuit levels the courts agreed that the torture killing of Joelito violated the law of nations

(p. 261).

In conclusion, Breaking Silence deserves widespread reading and use. As a reviewer the

only change I would suggest is that a 2nd edition be published to update the powerful and

growing Filártiga legacy.

Thomas Reed

Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond

Bailey, D. (2004). The Open Society Paradox: Why the 21st Century Calls

for More Openness—Not Less. Washington, DC: Brassey’s, pp. 240.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016807310651

Legal concepts of privacy, security, surveillance, anonymity, and openness have been central

to discourse in many different disciplines for decades, but the rise of the Internet and the

events of 9/11 have forced a reevaluation of these concepts in terms of a rapidly changing

technological and political world. Bailey’s book enters this dialogue bravely, attempting to

offer fresh perspectives on the balance between the rights of the individual and the needs of

society. Although Bailey more ambitious in his ideas than he is persuasive, there is much in

this book that will make a reader think. Scholars of criminal justice, law, public policy, infor-

mation studies, and computer science may all find value in this book.

The balance between legal protections of personal rights, such as privacy, and laws

designed to protect national security are issues of great importance in contemporary society.

Bailey’s premise is that greater openness to information, both personal and governmental,

will solve many of the current problems facing the United States by promoting homeland

security, effective law enforcement, and individual freedom. Instead of focusing on the

potential erosions of personal privacy and anonymity in a society driven by databases and

information collection, or on the significant increase in the executive branch’s reluctance to

make information available to the public, Bailey finds hope in new technology. He asserts

that correct use of new technologies, including everything from data mining to biometrics to

surveillance cameras, is to increase transparency in all aspects of society, making personal

and governmental activities publicly known.

The text begins with a section discussing current and future threats to society related to

information access, such as terrorism, identity theft, and other criminal activity, and even

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