Democratic accountability

Democratic accountability is the requirement that public officials explain their decisions and answer to citizens and representative institutions for their conduct and results.

Electoral accountability: Electoral accountability is the ability of voters to reward or punish elected officials through elections. Elections let citizens sanction officials for decisions and performance.
Representative democracy: Representative democracy is a system in which citizens elect representatives to make public decisions on their behalf. It supplies the elected institutions that hold many officials to account.
Authoritarianism: Authoritarianism is a form of government that restricts political competition and limits meaningful public control over rulers. It weakens citizens’ ability to remove or challenge public officials.
Government transparency: Government transparency is the disclosure of public decisions, records, and processes to enable scrutiny. Disclosure makes official conduct more visible to citizens and oversight bodies.
Legislative oversight: Legislative oversight is the scrutiny of executive agencies and officials by a legislature. Legislatures can demand explanations, investigate conduct, and impose institutional consequences.
Principal–agent problem: The principal–agent problem arises when an agent acts for a principal whose interests or information differ from the agent’s. Citizens delegate authority to officials but cannot directly observe every decision.
Technocracy: Technocracy is government or decision-making led by technical experts whose authority rests chiefly on specialized knowledge. Expertise can guide policy, but it does not itself provide democratic answerability.
Political trust: Political trust is the belief that political institutions or officials will act competently and in the public interest. Credible explanations and consequences can sustain trust after contested decisions.
Question time: Question time is a parliamentary procedure in which legislators question government ministers in public. It makes ministers answer directly to elected representatives.
Delegation: Delegation is the assignment of authority or responsibility from one person or institution to another. Public authority is delegated, creating a need to monitor how it is used.

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