GLOB.IDEALIZATION MOND.IDÉALISATION - Faculty of Social ...

Dan Herman | Polity Without Demos
and the constraints it poses to the adoption of global ethics and to the
accountability of global governance.
Held to account
In national or local-level democracies, accountability can be measured ex
post through the choices made by citizens at the polls, or with more
difficulty, ex ante through the proactive framing of party preferences and
policy to align with voter desires. The fear of exclusion (loss) or replacement
(loss) thus drives forms of democratic political accountability for political
hosts that govern defined constituencies within defined territorial
boundaries. Accountability in traditional areas of international relations or
international organizations relies on a delegated aspect of that accountability. 2
Thus, national governments are held to account for the inter-state relations
they enter into, as well as their participation in inter-national forums of
cooperation.
Strictly state-based, regional, or supra-national bodies, such as the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) or the European Union
(EU), operate in somewhat similar fashion. In both cases, national
governments are entrusted with negotiation at a supra-state level. However,
should constituents disagree with the results, they may choose to vote
differently at the national level, or as was the case recently in Ireland, to call
2 Grant and Keohane (2005) provide a useful overview of accountability at both the
domestic and global levels: Grant, R. and R. Keohane, (2005). “Accountability and Abuses of
Power in World Politics” American Political Science Review 99 (1): 29-43.
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