One of the most important questions in public administration is how to give administrators enough power to accomplish the work that policymakers want done, without having them exercise that power in a way that threatens democracy and liberty. In essence, effectiveness exists alongside accountability and accountability becomes a matter of "balancing internal norms with external processes." The way this is done is through a combination of "independence" and "redundancy."

Is this the best way to keep government systems accountable? Can you think of a better way? How can politics have a role in complicating government accountability?