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Summary

Dowdle, Michael W. (2006). Public Accountability, Designs, Dilemmas and Experiences Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press

"There is an ongoing perception that public accountability in modern-day governance is in "crisis," caused by globalization and the increasing power of private economic interests. This book responds to that idea, providing a comprehensive survey of how different institutions hold persons acting in the public interest to account, and the various problems they face. It shows how key issues - such as public-mindedness, democracy, and responsibility - and structures - such as bureaucracy, markets, and transparency - adopt different and sometimes contradictory interpretations of what constitutes public accountability. It also demonstrates how underlying these differing interpretations are core communities of experiences that bind them into a complex web of mutual interaction and influence. The book includes studies not only of Anglo-American experiences, but also of the experiences of numerous foreign and transnational organizations." (excerpt)

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