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Research
Theme 2 Corruption and
Accountability
The variety
of actors involved in the process of
mapping policy options, discussing
the alternatives and deciding on the
options, puts the question of
accountability on the agenda. Who is
accountable for the options that
enter the discussion and for the
choices that are made in design and
implementation? Politicians are
often formally accountable, but what
is the role of lobby- and
interest-groups, what the role of
policy advisors, policy analysts and
public servants, what is the role of
the media and the opinion of leaders
that mediate the discussions? The
framework also reformulates the
issue of corruption far beyond the
simple mechanisms of buying
influence, promoting solutions or
adapting implementations. Incentives
become the central issue for all the
actors.
While the research theme
"coordination and efficiency"
addresses the relationship between
products, processes and actors, the
research theme "corruption and
accountability" introduces a
normative dimension.
Corruption comes in many forms and
the definition of what is regarded
as corruption is historically,
culturally and socially determined.
Institutional design and the
complexity of both formal and
informal governing mechanisms have a
decisive influence on the existence,
importance and forms of corruption.
Accountability goes beyond the issue
of corruption. The concept refers to
the role of the mechanisms of
control in holding decision-makers
and administrators accountable for
their actions, through monitoring,
evaluating and considering
alternatives to their policy
actions. Holding decision-makers
accountable emphasizes the
transparency of the policy making
processes itself. Decision-makers
include not only politicians, but
also those “behind the scenes” such
as lobby groups, NGO’s and
international organisations often
influencing decision-making
processes without any public
scrutiny.
Examples of research projects within
the theme of Corruption and
Accountability are:
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Levels of accountability:
development aid in search of
ownership
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Measuring media capture
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State capture as corruption
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The watch dog role of the media
Current projects: At the
moment, this page is under
construction, please check regularly
for more information.
Publications:
At
the moment, this page is under
construction, please check regularly
for more information.
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