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Accountability in Democracies

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The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs

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Definition

Accountability is how individuals or organizations are evaluated and judged for their performance or behavior related to something for which they are responsible. In democracies, the accountability function is institutionally exercised in the domain of a pluralist democracy, where interest groups can act as accountability holders. Accountability is an essential principle for the construction of publicity for government policies and actions – accountability demanding that democracies’ institutional design requires representation and oversight. Interest groups act as intermediaries in the representation process and can influence different policies, and they must also be accountable to their representatives.

Introduction

This entry aims to present the concept of accountability, its dynamics in democracies’ functioning, and the role of interest groups as accountability holders. Accountability is the process by which individuals or organizations are evaluated and judged for their...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil

    Fernando Filgueiras

  2. Ostrom Workshop on Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Fernando Filgueiras

Authors
  1. Fernando Filgueiras
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Fernando Filgueiras .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Business Research Institute, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Phil Harris

  2. Universita della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Ticino, Switzerland

    Alberto Bitonti

  3. Aurora WDC, Madison, WI, USA

    Craig S. Fleisher

  4. Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark

    Anne Skorkjær Binderkrantz

Section Editor information

  1. Università della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano, Switzerland

    Alberto Bitonti

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Filgueiras, F. (2021). Accountability in Democracies. In: Harris, P., Bitonti, A., Fleisher, C.S., Skorkjær Binderkrantz, A. (eds) The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Interest Groups, Lobbying and Public Affairs . Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_111-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-13895-0_111-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-13895-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Political Science and International StudiesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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