Civil Society, Public Action and Accountability in Africa

Devarajan, Shantayanan ; Khemani, Stuti ; Walton, Michael

关键词: ACCOUNTABILITY;    ACCOUNTABILITY FAILURES;    ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISMS;    ACCOUNTABILITY RELATIONSHIP;    ACCOUNTABILITY RELATIONSHIPS;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-5733
RP-ID  :  WPS5733

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

This paper examines the potential roleof civil society action in increasing state accountabilityfor development in Sub-Saharan Africa. It further developsthe analytical framework of the World Development Report2004 on accountability relationships, to emphasize theunderlying political economy drivers of accountability andimplications for how civil society is constituted andfunctions. It argues on this basis that the most importantdomain for improving accountability is through the politicalrelations between citizens, civil society, and stateleadership. The evidence broadly suggests that whenhigher-level political leadership provides sufficient orappropriate powers for citizen participation in holdingwithin-state agencies or frontline providers accountable,there is frequently positive impact on outcomes. However,the big question remaining for such types of interventionsis how to improve the incentives of higher-level leadershipto pursue appropriate policy design and implementation. Thepaper argues that there is substantial scope for greaterefforts in this domain, including through the support ofexternal aid agencies. Such efforts and support should,however, build on existing political and civil societystructures (rather than transplanting "bestpractice"initiatives from elsewhere), and bestructured for careful monitoring and assessment of impact.