3 Chi J Intl L 197
Paul Wapner

Many question the legitimate participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in international affairs because these groups appear unaccountable to the public at large. Critics claim that NGOs are undemocratic, their leaders are largely unelected, and that there are few mechanisms to ensure that NGOs reflect the aspirations of broad-based, heterogenous constituencies. This article responds to these criticisms by showing that the standard against which NGOs are judged is itself problematic and that NGOs do, in fact, possess mechanisms of accountability that work to check their actions. When observers criticize NGOs for being unaccountable, they usually compare them with states. The article shows that many states are undemocratic and that even liberal democracies have accountability deficits. Secondly, the article describes the many ways NGOs are accountability to a broad-based public. These mechanisms are different from those that work to hold democratic polities accountable to the people but are, nonetheless, impressively effective.