Abstract
The assumption of the advocates of liberal democracy is that the legislature should have an independent capacity to hold the executive accountable (Barkan 2005). This assumption premises on the role of the legislature as an instrument of accountability.
When fully developed, in terms of its capacity to perform its collective functions, the legislature is an institution of countervailing power that facilitates both horizontal accountability across governmental agencies, and downward accountability to the public (Barkan 2005, p.2).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
- 1.
Available at: http://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption/#define.
- 2.
Available at: http://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption/#define.
- 3.
Daily Trust, November 1, 2010.
- 4.
Section 1(d), Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 as amended.
- 5.
Economic Freedom Fighters v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others; Democratic Alliance v Speaker of the National Assembly and Others [2016] ZACC 11.
References
Adamolekun, L. (2010). The Governors and the Governed: Towards Improved Accountability for Achieving good Development Performance. Africa Review 2(2), pp. 105–138.
Bayart, Jean-Francois (1993). The State in Africa: The Politics of the Belly. New York: Longman Press.
Barkan, J. (2005). Emerging Legislature or Rubber Stamp? The South African National Assembly after Ten Years of Democracy. Centre for Social Science Research (CSSR) Working Paper No. 134 University of Cape Town.
Bratton, M. & van de Walle, N. (1997). Democratic Experiments in Africa. Regime Transitions in Comparative Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Business Day (27/11/2012). Something is Rotten in the State of Contemporary South Africa. Retrieved on March 1, 2016, from http://www.bdlive.co.za/opinion/2012/11/27/something-is-rotten-in-the-state-of-contemporary-sa
Chabal, P. & Daloz, J. P. (1999). Africa Works. Disorder as a political instrument. London: James Currey.
Copeland, G. W. & Patterson, S. C. (1998). Parliaments and Legislatures. In George Thomas Kurian (ed.) World Encyclopedia of Parliaments and Legislatures vol. I. Washington D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Inc.
Douglas, E. A. (2016). The epidemic of corruption has been identified in South Africa: How do We Solve It?’ Unpublished work. Accessed on January 19, 2018, from https://scholarworks.bridgeport.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/123456789/1502/72-nonempirical_research_poster_template2_2.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Fagbadebo, O. M. (2016). Exploring the Politics of Impeachment in Nigeria’s Presidential System: Insights from selected States in the Fourth Republic, 1999–2007. PhD dissertation submitted to the University of KwaZulu-Natal, April 2016.
February, J. (2015). South Africa is in a spine-chilling crisis’ Daily maverick, December 10. Accessed on December 10, 2017, from http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/opinionista/2015-12-10-south-africa-is-in-a-spine-chilling-crisis/#.VyCGNvl96ig
Geldenhuys, D. (2015). The Weak Domestic base of South Africa’s good Global Citizenship. South African Journal of International Affairs. 22(4), pp. 411–428.
Jacobson, G. C. (1989). Strategic Politicians and the Dynamics of U.S. House Elections, 1946-86. The American Political Science Review, 83(3), pp. 773–793.
Hochstetler, K. (2011). The Fates of Presidents in Post-Transition Latin America: From Democratic Breakdown to Impeachment to Presidential Breakdown’, Journal of Politics in Latin America, 3(1), pp.125–141.
Kada, N. (2003). The Role of Investigative Committees in the Presidential Impeachment Processes in Brazil and Colombia. Legislative Studies Quarterly, 28(1), pp. 29–54.
Keefe, W. J. (1966). State Legislatures in American Politics (Prentice-Hall).
Legislative Sector South Africa. (2011). Oversight Model of the South African Legislative Sector. Retrieved on March 10, 2018, from http://www.gpl.gov.za/gpl/372-oversight-model-of-the-south-african-legislative-sector/file
Malala, J. (2015). We have now begun our Descent: How to Stop South Africa Losing its way. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball Publishers.
Masutha, M. (2014). The Role of Constitutional Institutions Supporting Democracy in Facilitating Effective and Proactive Oversight over the Executive. Journal of the South African Legislative Sector 1(1), pp. 64–80.
Mulgan, R. (2011). Accountability. In Badie, B., Berg-Schlosser, D. & Morlino, L. eds. International Encyclopedia of Political Science. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publication DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412959636.n1, pp. 1–14.
Norton, P. & Ahmed, N. (1999). Legislatures in Asia: Exploring Diversity. In Philip Norton & Nizam Ahmed (eds.) Parliaments in Asia. London: Frank Cass.
Norton, P. & Olson, D. M. (1996). The New Parliaments of Central and Eastern Europe. London: Frank Cass.
Norton, P. (1998a). (ed.) Parliaments and Governments in Western Europe vol. 1. London: Frank Cass.
Norton, P. (1998b). Introduction: The Institution of Parliament. In Philip Norton (ed.) Parliaments and Governments in Western Europe vol 1. London: Frank Cass
O’Donnell, G. (2008). Dissonances. Notre Dame University Press.
Oleszek, W. J. (2014). Congressional Procedures and the Policy Process. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
Olsen, J. P. (2015). Democratic Order, Autonomy, and Accountability. Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, 28(4), pp. 425–440.
Perez-Linan, A. (2014). A Two-Level Theory of Presidential Instability. Latin American Politics and Society, 56(1), pp. 35–54.DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-2456.2014.00220.x.
Robinson, M. and White, G. (1998). The Democratic Developmental State. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rose-Ackerman, S. (2016). What Does “Governance” Mean? Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration, and Institutions, doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/gove.12212, pp. 1–5.
Schedler, A. (1999). Conceptualizing Accountability. In Andreas Schedler, Larry Diamond and Marc F. Plattner (eds.). The Self-Restraining State. Power and Accountability in New DemocraciesLondon: Lynne Rienner Publ. Inc.
The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.
The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 as amended.
Transparency International. Corruption Perceptions Index 2015.
van de Walle, N. (2001). African Economies and the Politics of Permanent Crisis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wang, V. (2005). The Accountability Function of Parliament in New Democracies: Tanzanian Perspectives. Working Paper 2005:2, Chr. Michelsen Institute, Bergen, Norway.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Fagbadebo, O. (2019). Introduction: Understanding the Legislature as an Instrument of Accountability. In: Fagbadebo, O., Ruffin, F. (eds) Perspectives on the Legislature and the Prospects of Accountability in Nigeria and South Africa. Advances in African Economic, Social and Political Development. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93509-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93509-6_1
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93508-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93509-6
eBook Packages: Political Science and International StudiesPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)