Paper short abstract:

Accountability in SSC has gained on importance, with internal and external pressure mounting on countries like Brazil, India and China. This paper argues that multiples forms of accountability politics coexist in SSC and are shaped by concurring narratives on what accountability is or should be.

Paper long abstract:

Accountability is a major buzzword in international development cooperation (IDC) (Cornwall & Eade 2010; McGee, R. 2013). It also figures among the ambiguous, contested and open-ended development concept (Mosse 2005; Eyben & Ferguson 2004). Interestingly, not enough has been said about how is accountability in/of South-South Cooperation (SSC) being conceived and negotiated, what mechanisms are being implemented, and what forms of accountability politics (Fox 2007) are playing out in SSC.

From a marginal concept within official narratives and domestic policy debates, accountability in/of SSC has increasingly gained on importance as internal (from governmental agencies and domestic constituencies) and external pressure (from traditional development actors, Southern partners and transnational civil society coalitions) mount on SSC providers to justify policies, practices and outcomes.

This paper argues that distinct forms of accountability politics are playing out in major SSC providers, such as Brazil, China and India and in their recently established New Development Bank (NDB), informed by concurring policy narratives on what accountability in/of SSC is or should be. Drawing on critical development studies, critical international relations, policy diffusion studies, I propose an initial taxonomy of four coexisting narratives around accountability in/of SSC, namely: Accountability as Horizontality, Accountability as Transparency, Accountability as Learning, and Accountability from Below. Focusing on the narratives and on the main domestic and transnational actors engaged in shaping and disseminating them, I attempt to illustrate on-going domestic and global disputes over ideas, meanings and practices of accountability in/of SSC.