Accountability and Transparency: Cornerstones of Development and Democratic Governance

Abstract

There seems to be a general consensus within the international development community that the development strategies prescribed to developing countries failed to achieve their intended goals. Over the last two decades, the same community has shifted the focus on improving governance as a strategic priority for fostering economic growth. Despite the enormous amount of funds invested in promoting economic development, one fact remains: sustainable development has not yet materialized in the majority of developing countries. Could it be that early development strategists did not grasp the interplay between development and democratic governance, missing the cardinal question that developing nations could not have democracy without any development? Or as Lippmann (1997) famously wrote, is it the fact that the world that we have to deal with politically is out of reach, out of sight, and out of mind? To paraphrase the same writer, how long will it be explored, reported, and imagined before development stakeholders understand the nexus of development and democratic governance?