416 Accountability through Public Opinion
So it matters whether a country is a functioning democracy, an authoritarian state, or, as is often the case, something else in between. In the debates around the good governance agenda, this is the “Big G Governance� problem. Does good governance mean liberal constitutional democracy? Or should the agenda be about a more modest ambition, that is, working toward states that are effective and accountable? Sometimes the distinction is overdrawn. For how do you make a state both effective and accountable? Is it not the case that if you think this through properly you will get to democratic governance? This debate matters because it has serious policy consequences. One consequence is already happening. Initiative managers in international development are funding so-called social accountability tools as bolt-ons to projects irrespective of context. Accountability mechanisms invented in democratic India or Brazil are being turned into technocratic tools and used by authoritarian states. Suddenly, context does not matter? One of the major lessons of this study is that the institutions that strengthen accountability need attention in many countries. Yes, it is difficult long-term work and there are no quick fixes, but it needs to be done if citizens are going to be able to more easily hold their governments accountable.
The Public Sphere/The Agora Matters The public sphere of a country and how it is constituted matters if you want the citizens to be able to hold their governments accountable. Two recent accountability stories from the United Kingdom and Brazil make the point powerfully. The expenses scandal that engulfed the British Parliament in 2009 is well known, and at the time of writing the consequences are still being felt. The structural elements of the story remain crucial. First, civil society activists sought to take advantage of the Freedom of Information Act in February 2008 to find out how members of Parliament (MPs) were accounting for their expenses. Parliament tried to block the move. Then someone leaked the information to a major newspaper, The Daily Telegraph. Starting on May 8, 2009, the newspaper ran daily stories of the scandalous misuse of public funds by several MPs. The rest of the media ran with the story, which quickly acquired gale-force proportions. Public outrage ensued. The public demanded action. The consequences were dramatic: public apologies by members (MPs), sackings, resignations, de-selections, and criminal prosecutions. An Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority was created and took up work in May 2010, thus depriving MPs of the age-old right to police their own affairs. The other story is from Brazil, and it concerns abuse of the Federal Payment Card. The federal government of Brazil used spending cards so that officials could pay for expenses and make cash withdrawals. Between 2003 and 2007 the use of this card increased significantly as a way of avoiding lengthy procurement