This thesis analyses the policy debate surrounding National Missile Defense in the US during the 1990s from the framework of strategic intelligence failure. It focuses on the Congressional reaction to the release of the national intelligence estimate "NIE 95-19: Emerging Missile Threats to North America During the Next 15 Years" and the establishment of a new interpretation of foreign ballistic missile threats to the continental US. The role that partisan politics plays in the oversight of the US intelligence community is a vital and inescapable one. Yet little academic investigation has been devoted to understanding the political nature of intelligence oversight and its potentially catastrophic impact on intelligence product. Instead most of the scholarly literature treats intelligence and its oversight as apolitical, objective processes and intelligence failures as 'sins' produced by human error or organisational dysfunction with little analysis of the essentially subjective nature of political debate. The debate between the Clinton Administration and the Republican Congress can be understood as a conflict between two competing policy frames, each giving their holders a subjective assessment of what threats the US faced from ballistic missiles. Both parties sought to use their competing power over the intelligence community to produce community support for their paradigm and undermine support for that of their rival. The production and release of NIE 95-19 highlighted these competing claims. The unambiguous nature of the NIE's threat projections caused Congress to wield its oversight powers in an ultimately successful attempt to overturn the findings of the NIE. This represented an unprecedented level of Congressional involvement in strategic intelligence interpretation. Most importantly however it highlights the inherent dichotomy produced by current conceptions of strategic intelligence failure. In building a system of oversight that protected US strategic intelligence from certain apparent sources of failure the ability for Congress to actively meddle in the production of strategic intelligence and arguably undermine the value of long-term projections such as the NIE were massively increased.

Audit committees are an integral part of good corporate governance and their establishment strengthens the credibility of governments. As a foundation of good governance, audit committees are positioned to provide an objective assessment of whether or not public resources are responsibly and effectively managed. They also promote accountability and integrity, as well as improvement in the operations of governments and municipalities. The establishment of audit committees in the local sphere of government came with the advent of modernisation in terms of the budget and financial management, which was intended to strengthen accountability. The requirement for effective utilisation of resources by local government is critical for the support and empowerment of local communities and delivery of effective services. The audit committee framework for local government, which is provided by the Municipal Finance Management Act (56 of 2003), is underpinned by principles of good governance and accountability, which promote the effective functioning of audit committees. However, there are perceptions and arguments advanced in the literature regarding the effectiveness of audit committees as an accountability structure. This was brought about by the recurring reported incidences of the failure of businesses, which took place despite the existence of rules and laws regulating the function. As a result, trends of leading best practices were established, which enhanced audit committees' performance and were adopted as a proxy for the measurement of audit committees’ effectiveness. The focus of the study is on validating the perception by management that the audit committee of the Westonaria Local Municipality (WLM) is effective in the execution of its oversight role. A literature study on the functioning of audit committees have been undertaken, official municipal documents were analysed and a questionnaire has been developed and utilised as a means for gathering data, in order to prove the hypothesis to be either true or false. The areas investigated in this study demonstrate that the audit committee of WLM is generally effective in the execution of its oversight function. The findings of the study also identified certain areas in the audit function which require the attention of both management and the audit committee of the municipality. More specifically, the observations made in the study include the following: (i) that audit committee members are not provided with the agendas and reports in sufficient time for them to adequately prepare for meetings; (ii) that a productive relationship between the audit committee and the management of the local government has to be maintained; (iii) that there is a lack of informal meetings between the audit committee and the external and internal auditors; (iv) that no appropriate training of the audit committee on existing and potential audit risks in local government is in place; (v) that there is an absence of continuous learning programmes for the members of the audit committee; and (vi) that audit committee members do not evaluate themselves in terms of their level of knowledge regarding the functioning and activities of their audit committee. Attending to these aspects, as identified through this study, will further improve the audit committee’s activities in the WLM. These aspects are therefore not viewed in a negative light, but are rather regarded as a positive venture to be addressed by municipal management and the audit committee, in order to improve the functioning of the audit committee. These aspects should therefore be added to the many positives aspects that are identified concerning the WLM audit committee, as discussed in this study. / M Public Administration (Development and Management), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2010. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed February 19, 2010). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 193-206).

This study analyses parliamentary intelligence oversight in South Africa by assessing the understanding of members of the JSCI of its core business, its mission and vision and powers and functions as are stipulated by law. The study locates the JSCI within an international intelligence oversight milieu through a review and evaluation of selected countries’ intelligence oversight mechanisms. Furthermore, international best practice is sought and applicable lessons are drawn for South Africa. The study is bases on a literature review and interviews with members of the JSCI to gather information and draw insights to evaluate and test the propositions in the context of international and national best practice. The propositions, which are supported by the research, are that: · Intelligence oversight in South Africa under the JSCI has hitherto been relatively effective although there is room for improvement. · The JSCI has good relations with the other arms of the state that are responsible for the oversight of Intelligence in South Africa – making parliamentary intelligence oversight, overall, quite effective. · Despite this effectiveness there are legislative gaps and problems pertaining to the modus operandi of the JSCI that need the attention of both the Executive and Legislature and which could be part of a package of legislative reform. The research supported these propositions whilst pointing out that new initiatives need attention if the culture of oversight is to find root. These are the need to widen the scope of accountability to build a culture of accountability among middle and senior management members of the Intelligence structures and secondly the way Parliament resources the JSCI. / Dissertation (M (Political Sciences))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Political Sciences / unrestricted

Work deals with the causes of creation of the systems of public oversight of auditors, the regulation and functioning. Compares the surveillance systems in the Czech Republic, where the system works only since 2009, and Germany, where public oversight has been going since 2005.

過去立法院常被譏為行政院的橡皮圖章，但隨著國內民主政治的快速發展，立法院已成為我國當前最重要的政治舞台，不管是各政黨或是政治人物，對於在立法院合議制度下，所形成的權力分享與利益分配，都有莫大的關注與興趣。再者，立法院職權之行使攸關人民生活財產的維護，在民主化的過程裡，代表民意的立法院，更背負著民眾的高度期待。因此，研究立法院之監督功能，對立法與行政之間的互動關係做一明確的界定與釐清，將有助於了解我國民主政治的建立與實踐民主化的進程。 本研究旨在探討立法院之監督功能，也因此擬先介紹民主國家國會監督概念，針對「監督」一詞，加以界定並分析其理論基礎。再針對各國憲政發展之比較，來了解何以要研究我國立法院監督功能，並從我國民主發展過程中，探討立法院扮演監督功能的意義與角色，最後試圖從法制規範層次與實務操作層次上，找尋出我國立法院所具有的監督效果，以達到探究其監督功能之目的。 從萬年國會到國會全面改選，乃至目前歷經六次修憲以來，我國國會體制逐漸落實立法院真正成為全國最高立法機關之制度設計，不過立法權如何有效落實其監督制衡行政權的功能，除了從靜態的憲法條文賦予的職權來分析，還必須透過動態的立法權行使過程加以探討。因此，本文先從民主憲政原理中的監督背景及其概念，假設我國在國會全面改選後，雖然行政部門過去的主導力量甚強，但立法權仍能發揮其監督行政權之功能，以立法院所行使的職權是否具有監督功能來分析，並觀察出立法院非制度面部分，具有的實際監督功能之機制，最後做出結論與提出建議。 本文分成六個部分。第一章緒論，介紹本論文研究背景、研究目的、概念界定、研究架構設定、文獻回顧、研究方法及研究範圍與限制；第二章國會監督功能之理論基礎，從形成國會的民主概念破題，來介紹國會監督功能之背景、意義、基礎、技術，以了解民主國家之國會監督功能；第三章我國立法院監督功能之介紹，從我國立法院形成之背景，來介紹立法院監督功能之背景、意義、基礎、技術，以呼應第二章；第四章法制規範層次之監督功能分析，是以監督對象為基礎來分析立法院的監督功能，文中將監督對象分成對人如同意權、彈劾權等；對機關如預算權的監督；對政策如法案權，再放置到四個重要民主政治概念（權力分立、代議政治、有限政府、權力制衡）中來檢驗，以了解其法源依據、規範作用及實質影響；第五章實務操作層次之監督功能分析，將提出具有實際運作而無法在法制層次探討如議事杯葛、政黨協商等非正式制度面之監督功能，從實務操作層次中，去探討其實質影響。第六章結論，提出研究過程中所得到之發現，及希冀提供後進研究者之建議。

Police and Canadian citizens often clash during protests sometimes resulting in violent outcomes. Due to the nature of those altercations, there are few other events that require oversight more than the way police clash with protesters and there is a history of such oversight resulting in a number of Federal Parliamentary documents, Parliamentary Committee reports Task Force reports, reports arising from Public Interest Hearings of the Commission for Complaints Against the RCMP, and testimony at various hearings and inquiries which have produced particular argumentative discourses. Argumentative discourses that have a great effect on the construction of a civilian oversight agency of the RCMP is the focus of this thesis. This thesis examines how it is that different discourses, as represented by argumentative themes in these reports, intersect with one another in the process of creating a system of accountability for the RCMP. Through the lens of complaints that arise from protest and police clashes one may conclude that the current system of accountability does not adhere to a practice of protecting the most fundamental rights as prescribed by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms; nor would the currently proposed legislation contained within Bill C-38 alter the system in a substantial way to allow for such protections. The power dynamic between the Commissioner of the Force and the Commission for Complaints Against the RCMP favours the police force in the current and proposed system. In order for the current political landscape to become a climate favourable toward producing a system of RCMP accountability that truly protects the rights and freedoms prescribed in the Charter, a significant shift must occur in different organizations, agencies, and individuals who influence the creation of legislation and policy in this nation. This shift must be characterized by an increase in strengthening the commitment of the RCMP to protect the rights and freedoms as prescribed by the Charter rather than its current focus and interest in trying to stem the erosion of public trust and confidence in the Force. / Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2011-07-05 21:46:10.126

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 297-318).

Thesis (MTech (Public Management))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology. / The primary objective of this study was to contribute evidence and analysis that the administration of Parliament and structures such as portfolio committees can utilise during their oversight activities to ensure the successful implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP). In this regard, this study endeavoured to shed light on the current legislative, oversight and public participation practices of the National Assembly with respect to the executive. In particular, the study considered the strengths and weaknesses of the many ways in which Parliament pursues its mandate, through its oversight methods such as debates, questions, portfolio committee oversight activities, and legislation, amongst others. As such, the study’s recommendations are geared towards strengthening the capabilities of Parliament to deliver improved outcomes and, in so doing, raise the level of accountability within and throughout the institution. A number of gaps and weaknesses in the way in which Parliament executes its mandate were found. Significantly, accountability – which is the axis around which the roles of Members of Parliament and Parliament itself revolves – has been significantly weakened by competing political agendas. The highly political context and the proportional representative system influence the autonomy and commitments of Parliament. The NDP (2012:45) holds that “accountability is essential to democracy and that the accountability chain should be strengthened from top to bottom”. Serious questions emerged about the ability of Parliament to hold the executive to account. Capacity constraints which pertain to both members and staff and the building of coalitions (external expertise) were factors that require attention.

No abstract available. / Dissertation (LLM)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / gm2014 / Centre for Human Rights / unrestricted