Interaction between Accountability Mechanisms through the Lens of Social Network Analysis: a Study of the Citizen Monitoring Network of the A1M Project.

Abstract

This paper discusses the relational dimension of accountability on the basis of the interaction of Brazilian civil organizations involved in the Adopt A Municipality (A1M) project. We consider interactions between agents of accountability according to four resources: acknowledgement, reporting of news and actions, technical support and information gathering. The importance of the actors in the horizontal dimension is balanced by the presence of key social actors, and by a particular kind of agenda of this horizontal dimension. These are state agencies specializing in control and transparency. They act as potential intermediaries between the civil organizations. The marginal actors are important in the formation of sub-groups that support the local action of the civil organizations researched.