The term white paper originated with the British government, and many point to the Churchill White Paper of 1922 as the earliest well-known example under this name.[4] In British government it is usually the less extensive version of the so-called blue book, both terms being derived from the colour of the document’s cover.[2]

White papers are a “… tool of participatory democracy … not [an] unalterable policy commitment.”[5] “White papers have tried to perform the dual role of presenting firm government policies while at the same time inviting opinions upon them.”[6]