Indignation or Resignation: The Implications of Transparency for Societal Accountability

Abstract

International organizations, policy experts, and nongovernmental organizations promote greater governmental transparency as a crucial reform to enhance accountability and curb corruption. Transparency is predicted to deter corruption in part by expanding the possibilities for public or societal accountability, that is, for citizens and citizens associations to monitor, scrutinize, and act to hold public office holders to account. Although the societal accountability mechanism linking transparency and good government is often implied, it builds on a number of assumptions seldom examined empirically. This article unpacks the assumptions of principal-agent theories of accountability and suggests that the logic of collective action can be used to understand why exposure of egregious and endemic corruption may instead demobilize the demos (i.e., resignation) rather than enhance accountability (i.e., indignation). We explore these theoretical contentions and examine how transparency affects three indicators of indignations versus resignation-institutional trust, political involvement, and political interest-given different levels of corruption. The empirical analyses confirm that an increase in transparency in highly corrupt countries tends to breed resignation rather than indignation.

How Does Good Governance Relate to Quality of Life?

“…[49] shows that the transparency of the political system does not unambiguously improve efficiency: transparency of revenues can be counterproductive because it endogenously leads to increased wasteful spending. Bauhr and Grimes [50] show how an increase in transparency in highly corrupt countries tends to breed citizen resignation rather than indignation.…”

A Modelling Language for Transparency Requirements in Business Information Systems

“…This is not far from the truth. The literature on transparency spans several fields of study, such as politics [3], sociology [1], and management [13]. In computer sciences, transparency has also been occasionally studied.…”

El videojuego como dispositivo tecnopolítico. El caso de “Juegos del Común”.

“…• Transparencia y responsabilidad Este tercer beneficio es el que la mayoría de gobiernos y de estudiosos apuntan como más importante y capaz de mejorar las condiciones democráticas de la sociedad (Bauhr, Grimes, y Harring, 2010).…”