Role Of Accountability In Policy Making

Supporters of the American electoral system claim that their electoral superiority, with its direct elections, makes elected officials more accountable to the voters and as such improves democracy. However, critics believe that accountability in politics can often hinder policymaking. For this essay, the goal will be to assess the challenge that accountability presents in policy making and whether it is the sole factor influencing policymakers. This essay will look at the Electoral process in America and compare it to the parliamentary model in India. It will address the challenges in policy making and look at how the American electoral system, although democratic, fails to elect its President in a manner that is representative of the majority

So, for a Congressman, it would be the constituents of the very constituency that they are an elected representative for. Accountability can often be hard to exercise in politics. Voting a representative in or out is often the most basic means to exercise one’s power as a voter and hold the said representative accountable, however, it can only be exercised over a vast space of time and often serves as a judgement rather than an instrument of immediate control. That said, there are certain instruments that can aid in holding the government accountable. Pressure mounted by opposition parties and challenge to policies and governmental authority ensures that the politicians look after their constituents, as their failure to do so leaves the voters with alternative options, parties and representatives that may choose to elect in the next cycle. Protests and mass movements are an effective tool to mount pressure on political authority and a free media can magnify the reach and intensity of such movements. In many ways, accountability is an important feature of a democracy. It helps in holding elected officials in check and giving voters some control over political reform and change, however, in reality, accountability can often be detrimental to policymaking. For example, in the European Union, with the exception of the UK, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, the higher education system is fairly regressive, with resources being diverted away from the poor and into the funding of the rich. This is not to say that the men behind such policy reforms and agendas are evil and heartless, however if they were to change and follow a structure that prioritized egalitarianism and favoured the poor, they would lose the voters that elected them to reflect their interests; in this case, the students and their upper-income parents. This is