Democratic Accountability:
Why Choice in Politics Is Both Possible and Necessary
by Leif Lewin (Author)
It is common for political leaders to claim they have
no control over bad outcomes. Indeed, they often cite the arguments of
political theorists and public intellectuals as to why: history rushes onward
oblivious of human will; force and violence overcome political aims;
globalization undermines the actions of national leaders; the bureaucracy
sabotages their intentions; bad outcomes are often the unintended result of
actions. In "Democratic Accountability", Leif Lewin examines these
reasons and argues that they are unconvincing. He makes his case by describing
and analysing counterexamples in seven cases, including the prevention of a
communist takeover in Europe after World War II, the European Union's
preventing another European war, and Margaret Thatcher's taming of the
bureaucracy in Britain. In a staunch defence of the possibility for meaningful and
profound democratic decision making, Lewin finds that, in fact, not only do
political leaders exert a good measure of control and therefore can be assigned
responsibility, but the meaning of the functioning democracy is that the people
hold their leaders accountable.
