当前实施官员问责制面临的主要困境

官员问责制启动以来,已经取得了有目共睹的成效。但是作为中国政治体制改革的重要措施的问责制仍有待进一步建设和完善。应当从问责程序、问责主体、问责效果等方面深入探讨当前我国实施官员问责制面临的主要困境与不足,以促进官员问责制走向成熟。     

我国官员问责问题及对策探析

随着公民意识觉醒以及媒体报道、公民监督的深入,官员问责问题已进入公众视野,成为近几年的公共话题。官员问责已逐步呈现常态化、制度化。官员问责的背后是问责官员悄然复出与公众此起彼伏的质疑。官员问责法律缺失、复出机制及信息公开制度供给不足,责任追究意识存在误区等因素,制约了官员问责制的落实。建立官员问责法律、加强制度供给、构建问责官员复出机制、转变问责观念等是保障官员问责制落实的几种途径。     

官员问责亟需制度安排

官员问责的理论研究和实践探索在我国才刚刚起步，尚未形成系统化的规范和机制，因而还不能称作“官员问责制”。目前我国官员问责实践中存在法规体系不健全、问责主体和对象及范围不明确、问责程序不规范、缺乏监督机制等问题，官员问责亟需制度安排；官员问责的制度安排包括基本制度规范的设计、组织实施体制与机制的配套和观念意识的培育等内容。     

全面提升官员问责制效能的对策研究

官员问责制的实施虽然有了一个良好的开端,其成效也是有目共睹的,但是从政治文明建设、政治体制改革等角度加以衡量,问责制仍有待进一步建设和完善。因此如何有计划、有预期地将官员问责的运行纳入到规范化、系统化、制度化的轨道上来,避免问责过程、问责手段的随机性与盲目性,并实现问责制的效能提升是目前完善官员问责制的重要举措。     

我国公共危机管理中官员问责体系存在的问题分析

近年来,我国公共危机越来越呈现频发的态势.在公共危机管理中政府官员问责是重要的一环.公共危机管理的事前预防和事中应对都需要建立官员问责制,以有效预防和应对危机.目前我国,公共危机管理的官员问责体系在问责主体、问责客体、问责法规、责任认定以及对被问责官员的处理方面还存在若干问题,对此,需要进一步完善官员问责制,以规范而又严格的对官员责任的追究来有效地进行公共危机的管理.     

领导干部问责制建设：薄弱环节与对策

领导干部问责制是强化官员责任与改进政府管理的有效制度,是转变官员权责理念的逻辑必然,蕴涵着深刻的政治理念与丰富的价值意蕴.但领导干部问责制在中国推行起步较晚,当前存在着异体问责薄弱、职责界定不清、问责范围过窄、程序设置简单、问责文化滞后等薄弱环节,因此亟须探求破解路径,从主体、对象、范围、程序、文化等维度去推进官员问责的制度创新,以期对提高领导干部问责制建设科学化水平有所裨益.     

用"五个明确"落实问责制

自2003年非典时期开始,我国行政问责事件接连不断,各地纷纷出台问责办法,使官员问责制从非常时期的非常之举开始,逐步走向制度化.从近年来实施情况看,问责制确实达到了推进责任政府建没、促使掌握公共权力的官员忠实履行职责的目的.但人们在肯定果断问责的同时,对这些官员被问责后涉及"复出"的程序也比较关心.     

完善领导干部问责制的三维解析

从2003年"非典"时启动问责制以来,不少官员先后"下课",我国对领导干部问责的力度越来越大,成效也越来越显著,问责制逐步进入了全面构建阶段.但是,由于我国领导干部问责制的建设仍处于探索发展中,问责还存在不少问题.党委、政府问责的水平还不高,问责难度较大,问责随意性较强;问责"治病救人"的功效不强,被问责者往往是前"问"后"继";不少"下课"官员悄然复出;公众在问责中的参与度不高;一些领导干部不能正确看待问责等等.因此,领导干部问责制亟需完善.当务之急是要从制度、法律、文化的三维层面来完善领导干部问责制,提高党委、政府的问责水平,使问责制度化、法制化、规范化,确保问责的公平公正;稳步提升公众的问责参与度,让公众充分监督公权力的行使,当好国家的主人翁;不断加强领导干部的权责意识,使领导干部树立"有权必有责"的理念,尽职尽责,当好公仆,减少被问责的风险.     

完善领导干部问责制的三维解析

从2003年“非典”时启动问责制以来，不少官员先后“下课”，我国对领导干部问责的力度越来越大，成效也越来越显著，问责制逐步进入了全面构建阶段。但是，由于我国领导干部问责制的建设仍处于探索发展中，问责还存在不少问题。党委、政府问责的水平还不高，问责难度较大，问责随意性较强；     

略论行政问责制的改进和完善

行政问责制要求政府官员应当对民众给予他的信赖负责。我国行政问责制刚刚起步,尚存在法律制度不统一、问责主体单一、问责客体不明确、问责标准不够具体等问题,亟需在问责主体多元化、问责客体具体化、发展问责文化、公开复出程序、完善救济机制及进行制度创新等方面加以完善。     

Political Accountability in Hong Kong: Myth or Reality?

This article assesses the practice of political accountability in Hong Kong: whether it has largely been realised in practice, or whether it is merely a political slogan for the government to justify its executive-led governance. The analysis begins with a review of the theoretical concepts of political accountability and ministerial accountability, and then establishes an operational framework to analyse the current practice of political accountability in Hong Kong's political system. It concludes by addressing the degree of political accountability overall.     

问责制执行力的影响因素分析——来自香港的经验与启示

执行力是问责制的生命，执行力的高低决定了问责制的作用效果。问责制的执行力与问责制本身的科学性、配套制度的契合度、问责制的执行环境三大因素紧密相关。香港在高官问责制执行力建设方面积累了丰富的经验，问责对象明确，问责主体多元，能及时完善配套制度，形成了浓厚的“问责文化”。这些对提高内地问责制执行力都有重要的启示：必须进行系统的制度创新，实现权责对等，增强人大、司法、媒体的外部问责，建立科学的绩效考评制度，推进政府信息公开，提高官员的法治意识和社会的法治水平。     

Impact of compulsory competitive tendering on the structure and performance of local government systems in the State of Victoria*

Around the world, the public sector is introducing private sector management practices. Abandoning the binary model of public and private sectors the State Government of Victoria introduced the compulsory competitive tendering system under which local government bodies are required to tender out their services to private sector service providers. The aim was to encourage local government bodies to operate in contestable situations so that they can increase efficiency, decrease operating costs, develop clear programme goals and objectives, become responsive to client goals, and improve the quality of goods and services. The article describes how the practice of the compulsory competitive tendering system has introduced major changes to organizational cultures, attitudes of employees, power and authority structures, sytems of decision making, delegation of financial and managerial authority, and the nature of control and accountability. In addition, the article explains the degree of competitiveness and efficiency that local government bodies have achieved and describes how the corporatized structure has helped to achieve the financial objectives. The article also discusses how the role of the elected councils is diminishing under this new management structure and argues that in the absence of a genuine monitoring system and accountability mechanism the local government bodies find it difficult to assert their role as quality service deliverers. This has forced the councils to comply with the requirements of the competition laws which have reduced direct accountability of government to the public. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Putting the Cart before the Horse: Accountability or Performance?

Conventional wisdom argues that a good set of performance measures builds accountability and that improved accountability generates better productivity in the organisation. By way of an analysis of a case study in one inland Chinese county, this article shows that the assumed relationship between performance and accountability is more rhetoric than real. In practice, the implementation of performance measurement in local China leads to an accountability paradox, in which enhanced accountability tends to hinder the improvement of government productivity. The implementation of the Chinese target-based responsibility system risks boosting the short term accountability of public employees while undermining the long term productivity of government agencies. With the deepening of China's market-oriented reform, this choice appears to put the cart before the horse.     

公民参与式民主理论的拓展——异体问责的视角

公民参与式民主能够完善异体问责的理论和发展路径,而异体问责作为公民参与式民主的重要体现,能够为公民参与式民主的发展提供新视角。公民参与式民主理论强调公民与政府的双向互动,公民可以通过制度保证对政府管理进行监督问责,政府必须对公民监督问责做出积极回应并改善行政管理。民主模式从古希腊城邦的直接民主发展到近现代的代议制民主,20世纪中后期,随着时代的发展和科技的进步,参与式民主理论在对代议制民主的批判和重构中逐渐发展成熟。在该理论指导下的参与式民主实践逐步深入,从而加强了公民作为政府异体问责主体的地位,在具体实践中体现为宏观领域的行政民主、中观领域的电子民主、微观领域的工业民主。     

Responsible, Representative and Accountable Government

As an evaluation of the health of Australia's political system, this article offers a perspective different from the lament over the loss of responsible government. It finds that responsible government is not compatible with representative democracy. Peculiar to Australia is conflict between 'responsible party government' and 'responsible parliamentary government'. Nevertheless, the system is healthy. A parliament-as-a-whole approach identifies key holistic functions of manifest and latent legitimation and accountability that bolster legitimacy. Political accountability is enhanced by the watchdog role of the media. Public accountability is enriched by the links between citizens and administrative review. Critical changes include the guarantee of senate independence and the removal of senate power over supply. These changes would confine the theory and practice of responsible government to the House of Representatives, promote accountability, and thus increase the legitimacy of Australian parliamentary democracy.     

Impact of accountability on the performance of police service: Palestinian police case study

In the Palestinian case, the police officers tried to provide some requirements and undertake some development initiatives. The issue of accountability was the most important part of them. Therefore, this research provides an assessment and analysis for the issue of accountability in the Palestinian police. It aims to identify the relationship and impact on the development of police performance. The researchers used a questionnaire for this purpose, which was distributed to a sample of 332 police personnel in the four largest police departments in the West Bank. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data. The results indicated that the elements of the Palestinian police system are subject to accountability through clear structures, mechanisms, procedures, and standards from inside and outside of the system. This system of accountability has a clear impact on the development and improvement of the performance of police elements.     

重新思考NGOs问责

NGOs问责的涵义可以从控制-交待、外部-内部、过程-机制三个不同的视角来理解。这就形塑了不同的NGOs问责型态,如等级问责和整体问责、功能问责和战略问责、外部控制和内部回应为基础的问责矩阵等等。这些问责型态不仅在理论上存在瑕疵,而且导致不合理的NGOs问责实践。可以根据问责的来源和问责关注的期限这两个维度建立一个整合的NGOs问责框架。该框架包含四种问责型态:效益问责、使命问责、结果问责和发展问责。这个新的理论框架进一步发展了NGOs问责的涵义,同时能够帮助利益相关者调整观察NGOs活动的关注点以提升NGOs的问责性,也有助于NGOs看清不同的问责力量,并判断怎样才能对自身的行为负责。研究的主要局限在于,提出的理论框架是一般意义上的,在实际应用中需要根据不同的NGOs类型及其运行的外部环境对框架的内容和侧重点进行调整。     

State Social Services Contracting: Exploring the Determinants of Effective Contract Accountability

This article examines the effectiveness of contract accountability in social service contracts. The analysis is based on five case studies of Kansas contracts for selected welfare, Medicaid, and foster care and adoption services. Results indicate the state has achieved moderate to high levels of accountability effectiveness, especially in terms of specifying social service contracts and selecting appropriate accountability strategies. However, accountability is undermined by the use of risk shifting, reliance on a system of multiple competing providers, and the adoption of new information technologies. These conclusions contradict the conventional wisdom, theory, and existing research on contracting.     

Does E‐Government Promote Accountability? A Comparative Analysis of Website Openness and Government Accountability

Under the global pressure of information technology, the adoption of web-based technologies in public administration has created a new government-and-citizen interface. However, whether e-government will unambiguously lead to a more transparent, interactive, open and hence, accountable, government remains a central question. Applying a framework of global pressure effects on bureaucratic change, this paper conducts an empirical study on website openness and accountability in fourteen countries. Even when overall accountability levels rise, the accountability gap between different national bureaucracies often remains intact as web-based technologies typically maintain or reinforce the existing practices. The question of whether e-government promotes accountability depends on what kind of bureaucracy one is referring to in the first place. In the current debate about global convergence and national divergence on the effect of globalization on public bureaucracies, the spread of e-government provides a case of convergence in practice rather than in results.