Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Nonprofit Accountability: Effects Of Subsector On Online Accountability, Ibrahima F. Yaro, Trent A. Engbers

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

Scandals within the nonprofit sector over compensation and management have increased calls for nonprofits to demonstrate accountability. Many organizations have responded by disclosing information online and providing tools that allow web-based interactions with stakeholders. The literature on nonprofits’ online accountability has found that the level of nonprofit online accountability is affected by their size, age, asset, revenue, and location, but hasn’t been examined in terms of how subsector influences online accountability. Through a web-content analysis of fifty-five nonprofits, this research investigated how subsector (arts and culture, education, health, and human services) influences online accountability using a framework of four types …

Ukraine’S Quest For Justice: Accountability For Atrocities Committed In The Russia-Ukraine War, Tetiana Karpus

Dissertations and Theses

The Russian Federation's full-scale military invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has been marked by numerous documented atrocities, potentially falling under the categories of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This thesis aims to explore whether these apparent human rights and humanitarian law violations merit international prosecution. It also assesses the suitability and feasibility of various mechanisms, such as establishing national courts, "internationalized" or "hybrid" tribunals, or resorting to the International Criminal Court (ICC), drawing insights from past experiences in transitional and retributive justice.

Round Table (Part 2): Reflections & Questions, Sarah Federman

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

No abstract provided.

Lobbying Regulation, John Hogan, Alberto Bitonti

Books/Book Chapters

Lobbying regulation is a public policy approach capable of enriching participatory democracy while decreasing the dangers of corruption sometimes associated with lobbying. Here we present some insights into the state of lobbying regulations around the world today for scholars, practitioners and for society at large. We discuss the challenges in terms of defining lobbying and its regulation both academically and legislatively. We explore the broad context of lobbying regulation and the range of lobbying registers that have emerged over the years. The motivations for the introduction of lobbying regulations are also considered. The chapter finishes by comparing and classifying the …

A Framework For Assessing Accountability In Collaborative Governance: A Process-Based Approach, Seulki Lee, Sonia M. Ospina

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Despite the complexities involved around the accountability mechanisms of collaborative governance, little is known about how to assess accountability at the network level and disentangle possible accountability deficits. This study first explicates the nature of collaborative governance accountability in contrast to accountability in traditional public administration and market-based governance. The analysis shows how collaborative governance accountability is distinctive: (a) accountability relationships shift from bilateral to multilateral; (b) horizontal as well as vertical accountability relationships are involved; (c) not only formal standards but also informal norms are used; and (d) accountability challenges move from control/audit issues to trust-building and paradox management …

Presidential Accountability And The Rule Of Law: Can The President Claim Immunity If He Shoots Someone On Fifth Avenue?, Claire Oakes Finkelstein, Richard Painter

All Faculty Scholarship

Can a sitting President be indicted while in office? This critical constitutional question has never been directly answered by any court or legislative body. The prevailing wisdom, however, is that, though he may be investigated, a sitting President is immune from actual prosecution. The concept of presidential immunity, however, has hastened the erosion of checks and balances in the federal government and weakened our ability to rein in renegade Presidents. It has enabled sitting Presidents to impede the enforcement of subpoenas and other tools of investigation by prosecutors, both federal and state, as well as to claim imperviousness to civil …

When Does The Public Get It Right? The Information Environment And The Accuracy Of Economic Sentiment, Ryan E. Carlin, Timothy Hellwig, Gregory J. Love, Cecilia Martínez-Gallardo, Matthew M. Singer

Faculty and Student Publications

Public evaluations of the economy are key for understanding how citizens develop policy opinions and monitor government performance. But what drives economic evaluations? In this article, we argue the context in which information about the economy is distributed shapes economic perceptions. In high-quality information environments—where policies are transparent, the media is free, and political opposition is robust—mass perceptions closely track economic conditions. In contrast, compromised information environments provide openings for political manipulation, leading perceptions to deviate from business cycle fluctuations. We test our argument with unique data from eight Latin American countries. Results show restrictions on access to information distort …

Rethinking The Refugee Regime: Would A Human Rights-Based Approach To The Issue Of Climate Refugees Produce Just Outcomes?, Gordon Robinson

Theses and Dissertations

Human rights-based approaches are highly useful for a myriad of issues facing the international community. However, they have yet to be utilized in practice due to norms in the international community that favor sovereignty over human rights and international cooperation. This thesis will demonstrate the utility of such approaches by applying one to the issue of climate refugees. It is estimated that by the year 2050, hundreds of millions of people around the globe will become displaced due to climate change. Because climate-related reasons are not included in the criteria for what makes one a refugee, these people will not …

State Building In Post Conflict Rwanda: Popular Participation Of Citizen In Local Conflict Mitigation, Innocent Ndahiriwe

Journal of African Conflicts and Peace Studies

When studying local state building this article addresses the questions how does state led conflict mitigation in post conflict Rwanda work? How is it experienced by the citizens in terms of participation, accountability and local state legitimacy? Theoretically, the study engages with literature on state-building, state society relations and local conflict mitigation. The study’s findings have indicated that the citizens’ contribution to local state-building was still modest due to low motivation among the citizens involved in the conflict mitigation process due to insufficient resources and infrastructure in the conflict mitigation process, despite the fact that the state has granted legal …

Profiteering Off Public Health Crises: The Viable Cure For Congressional Insider Trading, Charles L. Slamowitz

Washington and Lee Law Review Online

This article takes an approachable, forward-thinking, and academic dive into congressional insider trading in the wake of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. After a confidential briefing by the Senate Health Committee warned of COVID-19, massive stock sell-offs by members of Congress and their spouses suddenly ensued. Some senators even publicly disparaged COVID-19’s viral effects while their own shares were being offloaded. By the time the American people were made aware of its dangers, vast investment holdings by congressional insiders had already been sold. Shockingly, it is unclear if congressional insiders trading on confidential coronavirus information are actually breaking the law. Congress …

International Conflict, Political Leaders, And Accountability, William Thomas Christiansen

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the role that an individual leader’s background (e.g. what they did before gaining power) plays in public evaluations of their performance managing international conflicts. I propose a novel theory arguing domestic audience members (e.g. the citizens of a leader’s state paying attention to international conflicts) heuristically analyze the competence of a leader by examining their professional and educational background. Once audience members determine whether a leader is competent, they use these judgments to inform whether a given leader deserves blame or credit for the outcome of a given conflict. I find support for this theory by fielding …

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum: Prospects For An Ethical Theory Of Accountability, Melvin Dubnick

Faculty Publications

This paper is intended to restate the case for the development of an "ethical theory of accountability" as an alternative to current theoretical frames being applied by students of accountable governance. I would emphasize the word "alternative" at this juncture, noting that an ethical theory should not be regarded as replacement for current models; rather it is offered as a reframing of accountability that can provide a significantly different perspective -- one rooted in (and built upon) ontologically distinct presuppositions about the nature of account-giving/receiving.

Central to the effort is establishing accountability as the capacity to engage in account-giving/receiving behavior …

The Catastrophe Artists: Understanding America’S Unaccountable Foreign Policy Elite, Samuel Fraser

CMC Senior Theses

The 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq was a foreign policy action that violated international law, was based on false premises, and came to represent a clear and costly political disaster for the United States and Iraq. Why then, did none of the top policymakers responsible for the decision to invade face meaningful consequences – be they professional consequences, or legal ones? Why too have so many of the media figures who helped sell this war to the American public remained in their prestigious positions, with massive platforms to influence the American people?

This paper argues that the above groups, referred …

El Derecho De Acceso A Información Pública Como Mecanismo De Control Social: Análisis Comparado En Cinco Países Latinoamericanos, Erik Moreno R., Christopher Ramírez S., Matías Salazar S.

Gobernar: The Journal of Latin American Public Policy and Governance

El presente estudio busca revisar el estado y el desarrollo institucional de las políticas en materia de transparencia y derecho de acceso a la información presentes en la región. Una vez dentro de la conceptualización pertinente, donde se consultan diversas fuentes que tratan el Accountability, se realiza una comparación que permite identificar posteriormente las condiciones para que las herramientas presentes en cada uno de los países analizados, conforme a su propia legislación, permitan ejercer el Accountability y configurar el acceso a la información, tanto como derecho autónomo como medio efectivo de control social a la gestión pública.

Instituting Sound Ethical Practices As A Foundation For Good Governance, Ogechukwu Marlyn Agim

The Siegel Institute Journal of Applied Ethics

This paper seeks to create a better understanding of sound ethical practices in the public and non-profit sector, highlighting these sectors and the issue areas, presenting work and practices that have been executed in the past, and exploring the implications that sound ethical principles have as a foundation for good governance for public servants, non-profit organization employees and even private employees.

Because governance is a term that spreads across all fields, several applications of sound ethical practices will be introduced and discussed in depth in this paper. An extensive study on best practices in the USA and Nigeria will be …

Gendered Violence: An Analysis Of State Legal Accountability For Sexual And Gender-Based Violence Amongst Refugee Women, Maria Sigalas

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Sexual and gender-based violence is a rampant issue affecting women internationally. Its incidence is exacerbated by conflict and the disruption of social patterns caused by displacement. Refugee women are often at greater risk of violence, due to their transient status in their countries of refuge. There exist many challenges in the protection of refugee women. The erosion of the refugee regime through the securitization of displacement has led to the depiction of displaced populations as threats rather than populations in need of humanitarian assistance. Additionally, there remain systemic social and cultural barriers at both international and local levels based on …

What Congress's Repeal Efforts Can Teach Us About Regulatory Reform, Cary Coglianese, Gabriel Scheffler

All Faculty Scholarship

Major legislative actions during the early part of the 115th Congress have undermined the central argument for regulatory reform measures such as the REINS Act, a bill that would require congressional approval of all new major regulations. Proponents of the REINS Act argue that it would make the federal regulatory system more democratic by shifting responsibility for regulatory decisions away from unelected bureaucrats and toward the people’s representatives in Congress. But separate legislative actions in the opening of the 115th Congress only call this argument into question. Congress’s most significant initiatives during this period — its derailed attempts to repeal …

Audits And Accountability In Non-Governmental Organizations, Kenneth J. Retzl

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are becoming increasingly important as providers of development assistance in the Global South. As these organizations are gaining in importance, accountability concerns have grown. NGOs are considered to be accountable to a range of stakeholders, including funders, foreign governments where work is being performed, and the local communities being served. In spite of these concerns, there has been little research on the effectiveness of specific accountability mechanisms. This study empirically tests one such mechanism, the Single Audit, required by the United States' government for organizations that receive federal grant funding. Unfortunately, it is found the results of …

Genocide Denial: Perpetuating Victimization And The Cycle Of Violence In Bosnia And Herzegovina (Bih), Genevieve Parent

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

The denial of the Armenian genocide led to devastating effects on both the individual and collective levels which in many cases were passed down to their descendants. In BiH, many of the facts are not denied per se but the interpretation is such that genocidal intent is denied. While some research has been done on the consequences of trauma among BiH survivors, no in-depth studies are found on the effects of denial on the survivors’ psychosocial well-being. This article aims to fill in the gaps based on in-depth-interviews carried out since 2011 in BiH, investigating the cognitive, affective and behavioral …

The Politics Of Town Hall Meetings: Analyzing Constituent Relations-In-Interaction, Robert J. Green

Open Access Dissertations

The politics of town meetings proposes that town hall meetings are institutions of representative democracy that present an opportunity for constituents to hold their elected representatives accountable in a public setting. Constituent relations-in-interaction glosses a complex set of interactional practices and procedures through which ensembles of participants bring town hall meetings, as structures of social interaction, into being. This study uses conversation analysis, the study of talk-in-interaction, to show that the politics of town hall meetings orients to three types of accountability: Interactional accountability, political accountability, and public accountability. The articulation of these accountability types provides a sense of overall-structural …

The Role Of The State, Multinational Oil Companies, International Law & The International Community: Intersection Of Human Rights & Environmental Degradation Climate Change In The 21st Century Caused By Traditional Extractive Practices, The Amazon Rainforest, Indigenous People And Universal Jurisdiction To Resolve The Accountability Issue, Marcela Cabrera Luna

Master's Theses

Local, national and international conventions that protect indigenous sovereignty and their territories, where many of the resources are extracted from by multinational corporations (MNCs) particularly oil, the number one commodity of the world and cause of climate change, continue to be jeopardized because of the lack of a clear international legal framework that can protect them and potentially hold multinationals accountable for their actions. These practices are causing not only environmental issues to the indigenous and surrounding communities, but climate change is in fact, the real human rights issue of the 21^st century and it affects everyone. By using …

The Impact Of Governance In Sports Institutions On Olympic Achievements From Decision-Makers' Perspective In The United Arab Emirates, راشد إبراهيم المطوع النعيمي

Theses

The success of sports institutions depends on the extent of achieving outstanding sports results not only at the local level but on all regional and international levels. Hence, efficiency of sports institutions is measured by the number of achievements, especially at the Olympics level as it is the highest rank in the hierarchy of sports achievements. The present study begins from a basic assumption that the weakness of the UAE’s Olympic achievements is due to the governance pattern and management and leadership styles in various sports institutions and especially in the sports federations and sports clubs. In this respect, this …

Democratic Transition And The Pakistani Electoral System, Amany Khodair

Political Science

The main aim of this study is analyzing the reasons hindering the democratic transition in Pakistan. This is due to the continuity of the military rule for such a long time with small periods of democracy. The study found that the electoral system negatively affects the Democratic Transition process in Pakistan. Accordingly; the paper has been divided into theoretical introduction that is tackling the electoral systems in general then, analytically studying the Pakistan system as a case study with an evaluating conclusion about the main challenges and the best scenarios for Pakistan.

يتمثل السؤال الرئيس في هذه الورقة البحثية الي …

Breaking The Shackled Silence: Unheard Voices Of Women From Kandhamal, Saumya Uma

Dr. Saumya Uma

Authority Migration And Accountability In Canadian Type Ii Multilevel Governance, Robert W. Waterman

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In advanced industrial democracies, including Canada, elections act as important mechanisms of democratic accountability. However, the migration of public decision-making responsibility away from elected representatives and toward new governance models may alter accountability relationships. As authority is dispersed horizontally to new governance actors that exist beyond the reach of the ballot box, questions of public input and accountability within the democratic governance process arise.

The objectives of the dissertation are: 1) to evaluate the extent to which Canadian provinces have opted to migrate decision-making authority horizontally in response to policy issues and why; and 2) to evaluate the existence and …

Pursuing An Answer: Bureaucratic And Legal Accountability In Local Law Enforcement Pursuit Policies, Casey Lafrance

Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs

Using qualitative and quantitative data obtained from 30 interviews with local law enforcement managers (12 county sheriffs and 18 municipal police chiefs), this study explores the decision-making processes used by these managers in the context of a pursuit-related accident involving an innocent third party. My findings suggest that: (1) managers most often conduct internal investigations to ensure that their officers’ behavior demonstrated adherence to the agency’s standard operating procedures; (2) managers use multiple mechanisms, including consultations with legal actors and professional peers, to keep their pursuit policies updated with regard to case law; (3) policy restrictiveness shares a positive, but …

Battered And Betrayed: A Report Of Visit To Muzaffarnagar Camps, Saumya Uma, Hasina Khan

Dr. Saumya Uma

Breve Perspectiva Crítica Sobre El Gobierno Abierto Y El Open Data, Lucas Jolías, Alejandro Prince

Lucas Jolías

Las ciberculturas y sus apóstoles aportan cada tanto tiempo y de forma incremental, nuevos conceptos o memes, es decir, unidades teóricas de información cultural transmisibles entre individuos, mentes o generaciones. Algunos de estos conceptos son vacíos, otros son comerciales, varios son sólo nuevos nombres de viejas ideas, pero todos de alguna manera connotan los cambios o tendencias de lo que en forma general podemos denominar la Sociedad del Conocimiento. Algunos de estos conceptos mueren a poco de nacer, otros cobran fuerza y vida propia (como la “web 2.0”), suman fans o detractores, y hasta se institucionalizan. De estos, y entre …

Contracting Out To Private Military And Security Companies, Nikolaos Tzifakis

Nikolaos Tzifakis

No abstract provided.

Assessing The Cypriot Meps' Performance: 2009-2011, Direnc Kanol

Direnç Kanol

The visibility of what the Members of the Parliaments do has serious consequences for accountability and democratic legitimacy. The Members of the European Parliament from various countries conduct their affairs without much visibility as a consequence of limited media focus on the European Parliament. Among these countries one can name the Republic of Cyprus. By relying on the number of reports, opinions, speeches, amendments, questions, motions for resolutions, written declarations, and attendance, this study aims to provide an assessment of Cypriot MEPs' performance so far. It also reports on the rate of activities motivated by national interest and looks at …