Synonyms
Answerability; Control; Responsibility
Definition
The relationship between an actor who delegates a task to another one and that one who has an obligation to explain his actions to the first. In a political context, accountability refers to the relationship between citizens and public officials, in particular, elected representatives in a democratic setting. This relationship implies responsibility, answerability, and transparency and is accompanied by institutional mechanisms that establish a relation of control.
Thus, accountability refers to an institutional design insuring that actors in a position of power, especially political actors, are forced to answer to citizens. The term is also applied to horizontal mechanisms of mutual control between the different State powers, also known as checks and balances or horizontal accountability.
Introduction
Colombia has had a stable democracy despite the persistence of an armed conflict for 60 years, which is now coming to an end....
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Isaza, C. (2022). Accountability in Colombia. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66252-3_3381
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