From elections to democracy : building accountable government in Hungary and Poland /

Rose-Ackerman (law, Yale) presents an excellent comparative analysis of the challenge of building an accountable democracy in Hungary and Poland. Her conclusions are based on extensive interviews conducted in both countries in the 2002-2004 period, as well as on data sets that were part of the European Values Study in 1999-2000. The author argues that a focus on elections and on creating parliamentary systems is insufficient to build democratic governments. There is a need to build an accountability component that spotlights monitoring, oversight, and transparency. This is particularly difficult in the new EU countries, which lack a tradition of citizen volunteers and have weak nonprofit organizations. The author contends that key paths to accountability--involving pressure from external organizations, independent oversight within the government, decentralization, and neocorporatism--are all weak. Chapters on environmental groups in Hungary and educational groups in Poland provide strong case-study material. Rose-Ackerman recommends more governmental openness and the creation of more nonprofit organizations. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates and above. J. W. Peterson Valdosta State University