ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the concept and analyses different notions and processes of accountability over different periods of time. In the face of the increasing power of political leaders and the complexity of government institutions on one hand, and bureaucratic power on the other, accountability has been a key issue in both democratic and non-democratic societies. The concept of accountability is younger than organised government, but it has not had the same meaning in all epochs. In essence, the definition depends upon the nature of the state itself. For example, accountability in the first truly political state, the Athenian State, meant 'lawfulness'. In examining the feudal model of accountability in Europe, the authors observe that accountability was an assertion that all authority followed from the King, and officials were accountable to him. The transitional model developed the notion that all authority followed from Parliament, not from the sovereign.
