Author Description

The central question guiding this study is: How can the relationship between the state and society be transformed from a process of particularistic demands into a healthier engagement that produces policy outcomes serving the public interest? This paper first surveys the literature on accountability and establishes a categorization of the different ways by which civil society can interact with the state. It then explores in detail seven case studies of successful experiences of state-society synergy for accountability. The studies are drawn from a wide range of different contexts (Brazil, India, Mexico, the United States) and from a variety of different areas of government activity including corruption control, environmental regulation, poverty reduction, election monitoring, infrastructure provision, school reform, and police reform. The paper concludes with a series of lessons for World Bank staff on how best to initiate, design, and implement successful accountability mechanisms grounded in state-society synergy.--BOOK JACKET.