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Accountability Systems, Brazil

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Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance

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Synonyms

Bureaucratic control; Public control; Responsibility

Introduction

The concept of accountability has a normative assumption and dependence, which makes it less analytical and more evaluative (Bovens 2007). It comprises a kind of social relationship between an actor and a forum, whereby the actor has an obligation to explain and justify his conduct to the forum. In this sense, accountability involves a cycle, which goes through the process of accountability, justification, and judgment of the actor in the forum, in which this evaluation process takes into account the value added by public agents to the policies and actions of governments and public agencies.

Conceptually, accountability is the duty of public agents to be accountable to their principals, who, in a democratic regime, are citizens. In a democracy, accountability is an institutional mechanism by which citizens must influence and control their elected representatives, nonelected officials, and other power holders...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Directorate for Research and Graduate Studies, National School of Public Administration, Brasília, DF, Brazil

    Fernando Filgueiras

  2. Department of Political Science, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Fernando Filgueiras

Authors
  1. Fernando Filgueiras
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Correspondence to Fernando Filgueiras .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

    Ali Farazmand

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Filgueiras, F. (2019). Accountability Systems, Brazil. In: Farazmand, A. (eds) Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3577-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-31816-5_3577-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-31816-5

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