From Elections to Democracy

We are constantly saying there is more to democracy than elections. So I was pleased to see a book exactly on this by Susan Rose-Ackerman, From Elections to Democracy: Building Accountable Government in Hungary and Poland. Rose-Ackerman focuses on the importance of policy-making accountability to democratic consolidation in Hungary and Poland. She explores several mechanisms in the two countries for monitoring and citizen participation, and finds most of them insufficient to achieve accountability in policy-making.

For example, government entities tasked with oversight, such as ombudsmen and audit offices, have limited independence and limited mandates, and don’t allow for citizen input into policy-making. Neocorporatist dialogue, another mechanism, tends to be directed by bureaucrats and privileges a select number of organized groups. Rose-Ackerman identifies a need for stronger, pluralist civil society organizations to advance genuine public participation. On the government side, she recommends requirements for posting draft regulations and an open process for receiving public comments.

In Hungary, CIPE tackled the same issues that Rose-Ackerman raises. From 1996 to 1999, CIPE helped Hungarians begin the process of enlarging public participation through policy advocacy and dialogue. CIPE hosted a series of 19 roundtable discussions to focus public attention on vital issues and bring public and private sector stakeholders together in a forum where solutions could be proposed and vetted. At each event, the government officials responsible for drafting the proposed legislation or policy document were invited to discuss the issue and present the government’s thinking.

The advocacy coalition was then able to respond to the issues, address alternative points of view from the private sector stance, and follow-up with media campaigns and other advocacy activities to seek to influence the decision-making process. Through roundtables, public conferences, research, and other activities, CIPE and its partners created a strong public awareness of topics such as improving the small business environment, enforcement of property rights and contractual obligations, competitiveness and fair competition, combating corruption, and banking and capital market reforms.

The final roundtable conference, held in June 1999, made recommendations to ensure open debate among the private sector and policymakers on economic matters. Specifically, the recommendations called for increased transparency in policymaking and regulatory processes, as well as expanded opportunities for public commentary on potential legislation. Furthermore, the conference recommended that greater attention be given to practical implementation and enforcement of new laws.

If you want to learn about transparent policymaking and public participation in Romania, read the CIPE case study on the Advocacy Academy (originally published in Strategies for Policy Reform).