Global Organizational Model and Institutional Change of Ombudsman

Abstract

This chapter concludes my observations that point to an emerging global organizational model or set of ideas that now frame the activities of the ombudsman. Though not always coherent, these ideational influences are accommodated by an institutional context and carried by individual actors, whose role is often decisive in the development of the institution. The ombudsman is a peculiar institution of public accountability—both an institution and individual. Operating at the juncture of law and politics, the institution not only discerns changes in the general political climate but also engages in a constant renegotiation of its intra-institutional position, also involving conflicts over its institutional mandate. This is also where the global institutional models become indispensable, legitimizing the changes in the activities of these organizations, granting institutional ideas and giving sense of orientation. But such organizational blueprints can also treat actors differently, working as mechanisms of inclusions and exclusions. To a certain extent, the models come to hide the institutional tensions and political conflicts involved. This underlines the interplay of institutional context, actors and ideas in understanding the dynamics of transnational governance and the changing profile of the ombudsman as an institution of public accountability.