The Accountability Cube: Measuring Accountability

Abstract

Accountability is one of the cornerstones of a democratic political system, but remarkably little is known of how it works in practice. Much of the literature focuses either on finding the most appropriate definition or on demonstrating the effect of information asymmetries using game-theoretic arguments. This article aims to go one step further by attempting to map out the intensity of accountability processes. Based on an extensive literature review, it disentangles the various meanings of the concept of accountability and on that basis proposes a three-dimensional mapping instrument: the accountability cube. It then demonstrates its application with an example of empirical accountability research among Dutch and Danish civil servants’ input in European decision making.