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Tales of accountability: a Q-method study of discourses amongst Tanzanian members of parliament*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2017

Jesper Katomero ,
Robert Hoppe  and
Anna Wesselink
Jesper Katomero*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Behavioural Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, the Netherlands and Department of Political Science and Public Administration, P.O. Box 35042, University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Robert Hoppe*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Behavioural Management and Social Sciences, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500AE Enschede, the Netherlands
Anna Wesselink*
Affiliation:
IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7 Delft, 2611 AX, the Netherlands
*
Email: jesperkatomero@yahoo.com
Email: r.hoppe@utwente.nl
Email: a.wesselink@un-ihe.org
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Abstract

The hallmark of accountability in a democracy centres on the way the elected parliament holds the executive to account. If the parliament does not perform its oversight role effectively, lower authorities would have fewer incentives to do the same vis-à-vis local executives. In this article we therefore ask whether or not different meanings of accountability can be discerned amongst Tanzanian Members of Parliament (MPs). In our Q-method research we found four clearly identifiable discourses on accountability amongst Tanzanian MPs: Partycrats; My Electorate's Advocates; Frustrated Account Holders; and Pragmatic Account Holders. We understand MPs discourses within the broader context of political clientelism and we argue that this combination of discourses, or accountability culture, enables the executive to rule in semi-autocratic ways. Even if opposition parties would obtain a parliamentary majority, this accountability culture stands in the way of achieving greater democratic responsiveness.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , September 2017 , pp. 423 - 453
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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Footnotes

*

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support of the research programme, Sensors, Empowerment and Accountability (SEMA) in Tanzania, funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research – Science for Global Development (NWO-Wotro).

References

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