The iocs position in international society dilutes the base of potential accountability holders and exacerbates collective action problems, while its social power allows it to maintain a reputational shield to guard against meaningful accountability efforts. Though many different kinds of regimes can be found in this part of the developing world, the politics of these countries can be broadly classified into. In world politics, internal accountability may or may not be strong, depending on whether states or international organizations have constitutional arrangements that promote it. Ro keohane, the concept of accountability in world politics and the use of force 2003 24 mich j intl l 1121, 1ff. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics volume 99 issue 1 ruth w.
What kinds of accountability mechanisms are likely to be effec. Political accountability 1st edition antonino palumbo. Comments by colleagues at duke in a seminar that we held on september 24, 2003, were also very helpful. Events began with the american brokerage company bear stearns on the brink of collapse in the spring of 2008. Baldwin from niccolo machiavelli and david hume to e. Keohane princeton university debates about globalization have centered on calls to improve accountability to limit abuses of. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics princeton. Witte, multisectoral networks in global governance. Citeseerx document details isaac councill, lee giles, pradeep teregowda. The role of these two institutions can be further delineated in. Accountability in world politics1 scandinavian political studies.
Religious soft power as accountability mechanism for power. The study looked at 60100 democracies around the world, to understand the varying levels of public accountability and. How should we think about global accountability in the absence of global democracy. Political accountability forms a cornerstone of modern democracy. Sadly, existing democracies, with their large, centr. Justice, accountability, and the world trade organization. Politics, principles and innovations earthscan, 2006. The book addresses how much powersharing really happens in policy innovations that include participatory social and environmental councils, citizen oversight of elections, local government social investment funds, participation reforms in world bank projects, communitymanaged food programs, as well as new social oversight and public. Thus, our focus in this article is on the role of accountability mechanisms in world politics. Ferejohn, accountability in a global context, iilj working paper no.
Accountability recently the world bank argued that social. Accountability in governance world bank group opposing, or alternate, concept. Political sociology studies the relation between state and society, authority and power, and the methods used to formulate social policy. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics econpapers. Political accountability and corruption the political science and economics literatures have extensively discussed the role of political accountability in generating good governance practices, and, particularly, in reducing corruption see, for example, fackler and lin, 1995. Its uses and abuses in the practice of political science. The authors identify two theoretical models or basic concepts of accountability delegation and participationthat offer distinct answers to the question of who is. This has occurred throughout history when no controls have been placed on governmental actions and leaders have sought merely to retain their positions of power and privilege. Accountability centres upon one of the oldest human problems, found in many. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics. The public accountability index pai is developed from a public accountability perspective using stakeholder opinions captured via a delphi exercise, a method which relies on a panel of experts, and it is applied to measure the annual reports of the eight new zealand universities in the period 19852000.
The term politics is generally applied to behavior within civil governments. Accountability in transnational relations lse research online. Religious soft power as accountability mechanism for power in world politics. The notion of accountability is an amorphous concept that is difficult to define in precise terms. Eventually, this helped him develop a new conceptualization of power in world politics. Gppi research project on accountability in global governance. For a typology see rw grant and ro keohane, accountability and abuses of power in world politics 2005 99 am polit sci rev 29, 35ff. It starts from the realisation that the media age is just one of many important determinants of government accountability. Indeed, junior public servants are often unwilling accomplices to abuses of power or corruption. The enterprises proponents point to its emancipatory effects, arguing that global health metrics uncover health problems and bring greater objectivity.
Building democratic accountability in areas of limited. Part iii global governance and democratic accountability. Second, we should define feasible objectives such as limiting potential abuses of power, rather than aspiring to participatory democracy and then despairing of its. Democratic theory asks two key questions about abuses of power and accountability. Keohane skip to main content accessibility help we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. In other words, accountability is itself a power term.
Ngos, trust, and the accountability agenda vincent charles keating and erla thrandardottir the british journal of politics and international relations 2016 19. Keohane, woodrow wilson school of public and international affairs, princeton university, 408 robertson hall, princeton, nj 08544, usa. Grant and keohane argue in their article accountability and abuses of power in world politics 2005 that we often overlook other instruments for keeping democratic check on international institutions. The book then enlarges the discussion to include both the concept of public demand for executive accountability and the supply of. Politics, power, and authority boundless sociology. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics, 99 am. The authors identify two theoretical models or basic concepts of accountability delegation and participationthat offer distinct answers to the question of who is entitled to hold powerwielders accountable. The only realistic way to limit abuses of power in world politics, in this view, would be to impose coercive constraints on the potential abuser. Second, we should define feasible objectives such as limiting potential abuses of power. Analysing accountability from an ir perspective, grant and keohane.
Aside from loss of office, they list a number of other negative. The development and use of indicators to reveal population health conditions and hold policy makers and the organisations they lead to accountwhat might be termed the global health metrics enterprisehas surged over the past two decades. The power of public accountability the wall street journal. This has occurred throughout history when no controls have been placed on governmental actions and leaders have. Increased interest in accountability interest in police accountability on the part of police managers, policymakers and police scholars has increased in recent years as a. Conclusions china achieved remarkable economic growth despite lack of democratization becauseit has in fact adopted political reforms through bureaucratic reforms. Keohane on accountability and abuses in world politics. A critic might say, however, that it is a category mistake to talk about accountability in world politics. Diagram the three major traditional theoretical frameworks of political sociology, plus trends in contemporary sociology. I will argue that the push for accountability by the voting public, the media and other civil society groups, and international donors and actors has been a highly contested and evolving battle. By disaggregating the problem in this way, we hope to identify opportunities for improving protections against abuses of power at the global level. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics by ruth w. The problem of abuse of power is particularly serious in world politics, because even the minimal types of constraints found in domestic governments are absent on the global level. Prepared for a seminar at new york university law school, organized by the research project on global governance and administrative law.
Grant and keohane, accountability and abuses of power in world politics. Who should hold whom to account and according to what standards. This means that accountability routes can lead both upwards and downwards. Moreover, until the promulgation of a new constitution in august 2010, the law did not restrict the presidents ability to make decisions. It has political consequences, fuelling conflict and raising legitimacy challenges for regimes around the world, in democratic and nondemocratic settings alike. No discussion on political science is complete without a study of how power is wielded, its uses and abuses in the modern nation states. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics american. Public accountability and the public sphere of international. Second, we should define feasible objectives such as limiting potential abuses of power, rather than aspiring to participatory democracy and then despairing of its impossibility. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics created date. Accountability, principle according to which a person or institution is responsible for a set of duties and can be required to give an account of their fulfilment to an authority that is in a position to issue rewards or punishment. Accountability in governance world bank group slidelegend. Debates about globalization have centered on calls to improve accountability to limit abuses of power in world politics.
Accountability for north korean human rights abuses. It is frequently updated with new case profiles and news of ongoing lawsuits. Woodrow wilson school of public and international affairs, princeton university, 408 robertson hall, princeton, nj 08544, usa. Steve charnovitz, accountability of nongovernmental organizations ngos in global governance, in ngo accountability. Absent these instruments for accountability and transparency, government is likely to succumb to corruption and the general abuse of power. Jun 01, 2006 a critic might say, however, that it is a category mistake to talk about accountability in world politics. In this monograph, their thesis about accountability and legislative power is tested in five country cases in southeast asia. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics core.
Thus, not all constraints on abuses of power in world politics constitute mechanisms of accountability. Ngos, trust, and the accountability agenda vincent charles. The accountability of international organizations gppi. Accountability of nongovernmental organizations ngos in. Accountability in world politics 1 wiley online library. However, broadly speaking, accountability exists when there is a relationship where an individual or body. This definition of powerthe capacity to make choice effectivealso applies to the negative usesabuses of. Will the new constitution enhance government accountability. The book then enlarges the discussion to include both the concept of public demand for executive accountability and the supply of accountability forums and issues. Pdf accountability and abuses of power in world politics. Accountability in world politics 1, scandinavian political.
Reinisch, securing the accountability of international organization, 7. Katzenstein, government, the events that led to the financial crisis caused him to look again at important aspects in world politics. While accountability applies to a whole host of issues, to sharpen the discussion, this paper. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics, ruth w. Keohane, stephen grant, nan keohane, lenore jonesperretto and joseph s. Nov 30, 2019 the public accountability index pai is developed from a public accountability perspective using stakeholder opinions captured via a delphi exercise, a method which relies on a panel of experts, and it is applied to measure the annual reports of the eight new zealand universities in the period 19852000.
Not only is there no global democracy, but there is not even an effective constitutional. Read pdf read pdf debates about globalization have centered on calls to improve accountability to limit abuses of power in world politics. Keohane 2004 accountability and abuses of power in world politics, international law and justice working paper, institute for international law and justice, new york university school of law. Despite the apparent precision of this definition, controversy has arisen about the exact meaning of accountability. For example, ministers are principals in their departments, but agents of both their constituents and the president or prime minister. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics february 2005 have obligations to act in ways that are consistent with accepted standards of behavior and that they will be sanctioned for failures to do so. The accountability of government networks, annemarie slaughter. The authors are grateful to karen alter, craig borowiak, william curtis, peter. If we focus on the conditions for the operation of a.
Aug 29, 2019 it starts from the realisation that the media age is just one of many important determinants of government accountability. Accountability and abuses of power in world politics ruth w. Thus, not all constraints on abuses of power in world politics. In the past few years, one deceptively simple concept has come to dominate the international discourse on human rights in north korea. We identify seven types of accountability mechanisms and consider their applicability to states, ngos, multilateral organizations, multinational corporations, and transgovernmental networks. Democratic accountability and political effectiveness from a cosmopolitan perspective, david held. Strengthening accountability of the global health metrics. Towards a pluralistic system of accountability, government and opposition 39, no. Reflection on the overlap between the open data and the anticorruption and accountability agendas offers important opportunities to methodically test underlying assumptions about the impact that power abuses have in practice and the role opening information can play in addressing these abuses. Indeed, power is the glue that holds nations together and gives them a semblance of control, as without the exercise of power, it would be difficult to keep chaos at bay. Indonesia, the philippines, malaysia, cambodia, and singapore. Accountability has been defined in the following terms. How should we think about global accountability in the absence of global. Building democratic accountability in areas of limited statehood.
The regulation of power also enables politics to become a viable platform for. Paper presented at the 73rd annual meeting of the association for the sociology of religion, las vegas, nv. Carr and hans morgenthau, power has been an important some would say. The interdependence of states, globalization of business, expansion of the scope and authority of multilateral organizations, and rapid increases in the number of nongovernmental organizations.