Accountability and Abuses of Power in World Politics

Abstract

The interdependence of states, globaliza tion of business, expansion of the scope and authority of multilateral organizations, and rapid increases in the num ber of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) have heightened concerns about the way power is used and abused on the world stage. Controversy about globalization pivots around the twin issues of accountability and democracy. A crucial feature of representative democracy is that those wbo govern are held accountable to tbe governed. If governance above the level of the nation-state is to be legitimate in a democratic era, mechanisms for appropriate accoun tability need to be institutionalized. Yet these mechanisms cannot simply replicate, on a larger sca le, the familiar procedures and practices of democratic states.