Accountable Governance: Problems and Promises / Edition 1

by Melvin J. Dubnick, H. George Frederickson

Overview

Public accountability is a hallmark of modern democratic governance and the foundation of the popular performance management movement. Democracy is just an empty exercise if those in power cannot be held accountable in public for their acts and omissions, for their decisions, their policies, and their expenditures.

This book offers a finely detailed and richly informed consideration of accountability in both government and the contemporary world of governance. Twenty-five leading experts cover varying aspects of the accountability movement, including multiple and competing accountabilities, measuring accountability, accountability and democratic legitimacy, and accountability and information technology, and apply them to governments, quasi-governments, non-government organizations, governance organizations, and voluntary organizations. Together they provide the most comprehensive consideration of accountability currently available, with a blend of theoretical, empirical, and applied approaches.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765623836
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	03/15/2011
Pages:	360
Product dimensions:	7.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Melvin J. Dubnick, H. George Frederickson

Table of Contents

Foreword, Acknowledgments, Introduction: The Promises of Accountability Research, Part I. Complex Challenges, 1. The Challenge of Multiple Accountability: Does Redundancy Lead to Overload?, 2. The Tangled Web of Accountability in Contracting Networks: The Case of Welfare Reform, 3. Accountability Challenges in Public Sector Contracting for Complex Products, 4. Accountability for Global Governance Organizations, Part II. Obstacles to Accountability, 5. Performance Blight and the Tyranny of Light? Accountability in Advanced Performance Measurement Regimes, 6. Does Performance Measurement Actually Improve Accountability?, 7. The Accountability Environment of U.S. Counties, Part III. Assessing Accountability, 8. Accountability Institutions and Information in the Policy-Making Process, 9. Accountability and Information-Technology Enactment: A Cross-National Perspective, Part IV. Adapting to Accountability, 10. Blame Avoidance and Accountability: Positive, Negative, or Neutral?, 11. The Challenges of Accountability for International Nongovernmental and Civil-Society Organizations, 12. Accountability in the Nonprofit Sector: Abandoning the One-Size-Fits-All Approach, Part V. Strategies, 13. Watching the Watchers, 14. Accountability and Voluntary Programs, Part VI. Rethinking Accountability, 15. Accountability in Two Non-Western Contexts, 16. Accountability and a Theory of Representation, 17. Emergent Accountability and Structuration Theory: Implications, 18. Rethinking the Obsession: Accountability and the Financial Crisis, Conclusion: Taking Stock and Moving Forward, About the Editors and Contributors, Name Index, Subject Index