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Understanding Social Accountability: Politics, Power and Building New Social Contracts

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  • Sam Hickey
  • Sophie King

Abstract

Calls to deepen levels of social accountability within social protection interventions need to be informed by the now extensive experience of promoting social accountability in developing countries. Drawing on a systematic review of over 90 social accountability interventions, including some involving social protection, this paper shows that politics and context are critical to shaping their success. We argue that the politics of social protection and of social accountability resonate strongly with the broader project of transforming state-society relations in developing countries. This requires a reconceptualisation of social accountability and social protection in terms of the broader development of ‘social contracts’, and that the current emphasis on promoting bottom-up forms of accountability needs to be balanced by efforts to strengthen and legitimise public authority in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Sam Hickey & Sophie King, 2016. "Understanding Social Accountability: Politics, Power and Building New Social Contracts," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(8), pages 1225-1240, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:52:y:2016:i:8:p:1225-1240
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2015.1134778
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mary McNeil & Carmen Malena, 2010. "Demanding Good Governance : Lessons from Social Accountability Initiatives in Africa," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 2478.
    2. Paul Hubbard, 2007. "Putting the Power of Transparency in Context: Information’s Role in Reducing Corruption in Uganda’s Education Sector," Working Papers 136, Center for Global Development.
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    Cited by:

    1. Rachel Sabates-Wheeler & Nikhil Wilmink & Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai & Richard de Groot & Tayllor Spadafora, 2020. "Linking Social Rights to Active Citizenship for the Most Vulnerable: the Role of Rights and Accountability in the ‘Making’ and ‘Shaping’ of Social Protection," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 32(1), pages 129-151, January.
    2. Fischer, Harry W., 2021. "Decentralization and the governance of climate adaptation: Situating community-based planning within broader trajectories of political transformation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    3. Jean-Benoit Falisse & Hugues Nkengurutse, 2022. "Citizens Committees and Local Elites: Elite Capture, Captured Elites, and Absent Elites in Health Facility Committees," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 34(3), pages 1662-1683, June.
    4. Dennis Puorideme, 2023. "An Ethnographic-Discourse Analysis of the Socio-political Effects of Interaction Between Cash Transfer Programme Authorities, Caregivers and Non-beneficiaries," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 35(3), pages 483-519, June.
    5. Eva Sørensen & Jacob Torfing, 2021. "Accountable Government through Collaborative Governance?," Administrative Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(4), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Caroline Dyer & Arathi Sriprakash & Suraj Jacob & Nisha Thomas, 2022. "The Social Contract and India's Right to Education," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 53(4), pages 888-911, July.
    7. Vincenzo Vinci & Keetie Roelen, 2020. "The relevance of institutions and people’s preferences in the PSNP and IN‐SCT programmes in Ethiopia," International Social Security Review, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 73(1), pages 139-167, January.
    8. Adam S. Harris & Brigitte Seim & Rachel Sigman, 2020. "Information, accountability and perceptions of public sector programme success: A conjoint experiment among bureaucrats in Africa," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 38(5), pages 594-612, September.
    9. Sophie King & Peter Kasaija, 2018. "State-movement partnership in Uganda: Co-producing an enabling environment for urban poverty reduction?," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-098-18, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    10. repec:ehl:lserod:110766 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Mogues, Tewodaj & Van Campenhout, Bjorn & Miehe, Caroline & Kabunga, Nassul, 2023. "The impact of community-based monitoring on public service delivery: A randomized control trial in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 172(C).
    12. John Gaventa & Anuradha Joshi & Colin Anderson, 2023. "Citizen action for accountability in challenging contexts: What have we learned?," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(S1), March.
    13. Abu Elias Sarker & Syed Awais Ahmad Tipu & Farhana Razzaque, 2022. "An Integrative Dynamic Framework of Social Accountability: Determinants, Initiatives, and Outcomes," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 22(1), pages 117-133, March.
    14. Colin Anderson, 2023. "Understanding accountability in practice: Obligations, scrutiny, and consequences," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(S1), March.
    15. Alawattage, Chandana & Azure, John De-Clerk, 2021. "Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    16. Loewe, Markus & Zintl, Tina & Houdret, Annabelle, 2021. "The social contract as a tool of analysis: Introduction to the special issue on “Framing the evolution of new social contracts in Middle Eastern and North African countries”," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).

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