ABSTRACT
An accountability mechanism, in this study, is the formal and/or informal structures an actor uses to evaluate, judge, and sanction the job performance of elected officials 1 and public servants 2 in crises (their evaluations, decisions, and actions). It is worth noting that the English word accountability does not have a direct equivalent in the Swedish language, but is sometimes translated as ansvarighet. When used this way responsibility [ansvar] is seen as a fundamental and foundational part of accountability (see for instance SOU 2005: 66). This chapter outlines the framework used to empirically analyze accountability mechanisms and their functioning in crises across time.
