Accountability is a concept that no one can be against. It conveys an image of transparency and trustworthiness. It is increasingly used in political discourse and policy documents. The concept has many meanings and is partly overlapping with other concepts such as “responsibility.”
This chapter will first elaborate on why accountability is important. Subsequently different meanings of the concept will be presented. Lastly how the different meanings of accountability relate to the quality of government will be discussed.
Why “Accountability” Is an Important Concept
People’s natural inclination is to favor their own kind, whether it be family, friends, business associates, or other individuals or organizations that they have a close relation to. Modern democratic rule, on the contrary, has ethical universalism as an ideal. In this context it is necessary to move away from particularism and favoritism (Mungiu-Pippidi 2013). Many argue that accountability and control are a prerequisite...
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Reichborn-Kjennerud, K. (2018). Accountability and Ethics. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2465
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20928-9_2465
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