civil society and accountability - united nations.pdfVIP

Journal of Human Development , Vol. 4, No. 1, 2003 Civil Society and Accountability MARY KALDOR Mary Kaldor is School Professor and Director of the Programme on Global Civil Society at the Centre for the Study of Global Governance, London School of Economics, UK Abstract This paper addresses the question of whether trust in civil society groups is justified when it comes to giving voice to the poor. It addresses the issue of accountability as it relates to civil society, defining ‘moral’ accountability as an organization’s accountability towards the people it was established to help, and procedural accountability as internal management. It draws a distinction between civil society and non-governmental organiza- tions, and argues that the contradiction between ‘moral’ and ‘procedural’ accountability applies primarily to non-governmental organizations, a subset of civil society. Beginning with an overview of the concept of civil society and the relevance of voice, it develops a typology of civil society actors to clarify different forms of accountability, and concludes with policy recommendations. Key words: Accountability, Civil Society, the State, Non-Governmental Organisations, Governance, Management Introduction It is a paradox of the contemporary period that, at a time when more and more states all over the world have adopted democratic forms and proce- dures, there is decreasing trust in elected officials and politicians. This lack of trust is reflected in growing political apathy, declining membership in political parties, and low voter turnout in many elections. At the same time, however, there appears to be more trust in civil society groups, which are often, wrongly in my view, equated with non-governmental organizations (NGOs). These groups, which are supposedly independent of the state and of big companies, are not e