Perspectives on Transparency, Corruption and Civil Society

Abstract

This chapter discusses the nature of accountability and transparency within accountability regimes in environmental and global contexts. Presently, as noted earlier in Chap. 7 , neo-liberal political ideologies based on concepts of private, transferable property ownership, individual rights, and a notion that commercial and social relationships are universally reducible to a system of economic transactions, dominate Western political and social discourse. However, such ideologies fail to provide solutions to critical societal concerns. and do not engage work on connections between language, Nature and social systems. This chapter contributes to the dialogue regarding accountability by further challenging neo-liberal political processes of accountability and transparency. A specific focus is applied to considering how accountability can be developed in the public sphere. A case is made that neoliberal economic systems, integrated reporting, and business case reforms should be subject to further analysis and interpretation to determine whether the voices of marginalized groups, victims of corporate abuse, and the Other, are adequately considered. Global accountability should give these voices ample opportunities to be heard in respect of common endeavors.