Democracy, Accountability, and the Role of Parliaments

 
Democracy, accountability and
parliaments
 
By
Riccardo Pelizzo
 
Democracy
 
The literature on democracy has addressed 3
questions:
What is democracy?
What conditions facilitate a transition to
democracy?
What conditions ensure that democracy
survives?
 
Democracy
 
The duration and durability of democracy has
been related to:
Political culture
Institutions (forms of government)
Patterns of inter-party competition (political
party system)
Ethnic diversity
Socio-economic development
Legitimacy
 
democracy
 
Recent studies (Morlino) have related the
legitimacy of a democratic regime to the
qualities of democracy
These qualities concern the procedures, the
content/output and the result/outcome of
democracy
 
democracy
 
democracy
 
In his analytical framework Morlino suggested
that these qualities could constitute a funnel
of causality such that:
Responsiveness/legitimacy is function of
freedom and equality, and
Freedom and equality are a function of
procedural characteristics of the democratic
regime
 
democracy
 
parliaments
 
Parliaments can play a key role in keeping
governments accountable
They are one of the institutions to which
governments have to account to
They can help society and civil society groups
to keep governments accountable
They can provide society with the information
it needs to make informed decisions at the
ballot box
 
parliaments
 
Therefore parliaments are key mechanisms of
inter-institutional accountability and are
instrumental in facilitating vertical, social and
diagonal accountability
Parliaments contribute to the establishment
and the functioning of systems of
accountability by performing their oversight
function
 
parliaments
 
While there are some differences between
parliaments or legislatures across forms of
government, all parliaments perform
A representative function
A legislative function
An oversight function
 
parliaments
 
Parliaments can employ various tools to oversee
government activities and expenditures
Questions
Interpellations
Committee Hearings
Inquiry committees
Specialized oversight committees
Motions
Missions
Reports
 
parliaments
 
Questions can be oral or written; they are
generally submitted in writing;
Written questions are answered in writing and
are not debated
Oral questions are answered and debated during
Question Time
Questions can be asked by individual MPs; they
are the most commonly used oversight tools but
they are not the most effective oversight tool
 
parliaments
 
Interpellations are less common but more powerful
oversight tool than question
There are 3 differences between questions and
interpellations
 1) interpellations cannot be asked by individual
MPs
2) while the question seeks information, the
interpellation seeks an explanation/justification
3) may lead to government crisis in parliamentary
systems and to a motion of censure in
presidential systems
 
parliaments
 
motions for debate can be used to scrutinize
the implementation of government policies
and activities
 
parliaments
 
motions of censure are directed against individual
government members, against the government as a
whole or against the head of government.
If successful they can have a whole range of
consequences.
In some countries (e.g., Burundi) they are simply
put on record while in others (e.g., Liberia) they can
lead to the dismissal of the head of government.
 
parliaments
 
Committees are crucial for oversight:
Committee hearings are, along qwith
questions, the most common oversight tools
and also are one of the most effective
Some (standing) committees, such as PACs,
have only an oversight mandate
Inquiry committees are set up for a limited
amount of time to conduct an specific inquiry
 
parliaments
 
Missions are less common oversight tools
 
In several countries (e.g., Benin, Burundi, Congo,
Djibouti and Indonesia), fact-finding missions
are carried out to gather the necessary
information on the efficiency and the
effectiveness of government policy
implementation
 
parliaments
 
In several countries (e.g., Cyprus, Djibouti and
South Korea), specific provisions compel the
executive branch of the government to submit
regular reports to the legislature about the
implementation of its policies and programs.
 
It is not uncommon for such reports to be the
subject of a debate in the plenary
 
A brief note on oversight effectiveness
 
Oversight effectiveness promoted by:
Range of mandate
Resources available (human, financial,
technical)
Political will
 
Dividends of accountability
 
Where oversight is performed more effectively,
and/or where there is more accountability
There is more political stability (less political
violence)
There is less corruption
The quality of democracy is higher, and
The percentage of citizens that are satisfied
with democracy is higher
 
Dividends of accountability
 
Dividends of accountability
 
Dividends of accountability
 
The dividends of accountability
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Explore the concepts of democracy, accountability, and the significance of parliaments in ensuring government transparency and citizen participation. Learn how factors like political culture, institutions, and legitimacy impact the durability of democratic systems. Discover the link between democracy's qualities and its legitimacy, as well as the crucial roles of rule of law, electoral accountability, and responsiveness in a democratic society.


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  1. Democracy, accountability and parliaments By Riccardo Pelizzo

  2. Democracy The literature on democracy has addressed 3 questions: What is democracy? What conditions facilitate a transition to democracy? What conditions ensure that democracy survives?

  3. Democracy The duration and durability of democracy has been related to: Political culture Institutions (forms of government) Patterns of inter-party competition (political party system) Ethnic diversity Socio-economic development Legitimacy

  4. democracy Recent studies (Morlino) have related the legitimacy of a democratic regime to the qualities of democracy These qualities concern the procedures, the content/output and the result/outcome of democracy

  5. democracy Rule of law Electoral accountability Inter-institutional accountability Participation Competition Freedom Equality Responsiveness /legitimacy Procedures Content (outputs) Result (outcomes)

  6. democracy In his analytical framework Morlino suggested that these qualities could constitute a funnel of causality such that: Responsiveness/legitimacy is function of freedom and equality, and Freedom and equality are a function of procedural characteristics of the democratic regime

  7. democracy Rule of law Accountabilitie Responsiveness Freedom Equality Outcome s + Effective + + Responsible + + + Legitimate + + + Free + + + Egalitarian + + + + + Perfect

  8. parliaments Parliaments can play a key role in keeping governments accountable They are one of the institutions to which governments have to account to They can help society and civil society groups to keep governments accountable They can provide society with the information it needs to make informed decisions at the ballot box

  9. parliaments Therefore parliaments are key mechanisms of inter-institutional accountability and are instrumental in facilitating vertical, social and diagonal accountability Parliaments contribute to the establishment and the functioning of systems of accountability by performing their oversight function

  10. parliaments While there are some differences between parliaments or legislatures across forms of government, all parliaments perform A representative function A legislative function An oversight function

  11. parliaments Parliaments can employ various tools to oversee government activities and expenditures Questions Interpellations Committee Hearings Inquiry committees Specialized oversight committees Motions Missions Reports

  12. parliaments Questions can be oral or written; they are generally submitted in writing; Written questions are answered in writing and are not debated Oral questions are answered and debated during Question Time Questions can be asked by individual MPs; they are the most commonly used oversight tools but they are not the most effective oversight tool

  13. parliaments Interpellations are less common but more powerful oversight tool than question There are 3 differences between questions and interpellations 1) interpellations cannot be asked by individual MPs 2) while the question seeks information, the interpellation seeks an explanation/justification 3) may lead to government crisis in parliamentary systems and to a motion of censure in presidential systems

  14. parliaments motions for debate can be used to scrutinize the implementation of government policies and activities

  15. parliaments motions of censure are directed against individual government members, against the government as a whole or against the head of government. If successful they can have a whole range of consequences. In some countries (e.g., Burundi) they are simply put on record while in others (e.g., Liberia) they can lead to the dismissal of the head of government.

  16. parliaments Committees are crucial for oversight: Committee hearings are, along qwith questions, the most common oversight tools and also are one of the most effective Some (standing) committees, such as PACs, have only an oversight mandate Inquiry committees are set up for a limited amount of time to conduct an specific inquiry

  17. parliaments Missions are less common oversight tools In several countries (e.g., Benin, Burundi, Congo, Djibouti and Indonesia), fact-finding missions are carried out to gather the necessary information on the efficiency and the effectiveness of government policy implementation

  18. parliaments In several countries (e.g., Cyprus, Djibouti and South Korea), specific provisions compel the executive branch of the government to submit regular reports to the legislature about the implementation of its policies and programs. It is not uncommon for such reports to be the subject of a debate in the plenary

  19. A brief note on oversight effectiveness Oversight effectiveness promoted by: Range of mandate Resources available (human, financial, technical) Political will

  20. Dividends of accountability Where oversight is performed more effectively, and/or where there is more accountability There is more political stability (less political violence) There is less corruption The quality of democracy is higher, and The percentage of citizens that are satisfied with democracy is higher

  21. Dividends of accountability

  22. Dividends of accountability

  23. Dividends of accountability

  24. The dividends of accountability

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