Transparency has become a ubiquitous presence in seemingly every sphere of social, economic, and political life. Yet, for all the claims that transparency works, little attention has been paid to how it works – even when it fails to achieve its goals. Instead of assuming that transparency is itself transparent, this book questions the technological practices, material qualities, and institutional standards producing transparency in extractive, commodity trading, and agricultural sites. Furthermore, it asks: how is transparency certified and standardized? How is it regimented by 'ethical' and 'responsible' businesses, or valued by traders and investors, from auction rooms to sustainability reports? The contributions bring nuanced answers to these questions, approaching transparency through four key organizing concepts, namely disclosure, immediacy, trust, and truth. These are concepts that anchor the making of transparency across the lifespan of global commodities. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core.

‘For decades, transparency has been a mantra, a passepartout to open the doors of business and bureaucratic administrations worldwide, a notion so central to many discourses across fields that it has almost become transparent itself. Like a prism, this volume shines a light on what transparency actually is, and how it is produced and made 'tangible' through different discourses and practices. The editors and an incredible range of contributors reflect theoretically and ethnographically on the paradoxes of transparency, making an invaluable contribution to debates on global network production, commodities and value creation, audit cultures, and state and non-state bureaucracies. Essential reading for scholars and practitioners alike, this book challenges us to rethink what transparency really means, and what it obscures.'

Lorenzo D'Angelo - Sapienza University of Rome, Italy

‘The supply chains that comprise the global economy have never received so much attention or been more controversial, making this novel examination of the protocols and practices of transparency especially timely and valuable.'

Stuart Kirsch - University of Michigan

‘Brilliantly, this volume gives form to the how of ‘transparency'. Pushed beyond its development-mantra as a self-evident and neutral disclosure device, transparency, in these authors' telling, is made through institutional, economic, and technological arrangements. Their rich ethnography reveals the consequential political and social effects when transparency is understood as a plurivalent site and mode for producing global value.'

Suzana Sawyer - University of California, Davis