Meanings and practices of accountability in the international development sector: The limits of “vernacularization” in rural Cambodia

Motivation Accountability agendas have long been promoted through the policies and programmes of international development organizations around the world. Despite increasing scholarly interest in how political concepts, such as human rights, are “vernacularized” into local contexts, there has been little consideration to date of the vernacularization of ideas and practices of accountability. Purpose This study fills this gap by exploring the vernacularization of the concept of “accountability” in the case of a long‐term international NGO programme in rural northern Cambodia. Methods This article draws on extended interviews and focus group discussions with local community members and leaders, local government, and development organization staff involved with the NGO programme. Findings The programme was in some ways a success, in that practices within communities shifted considerably over the course of the NGO's programme, becoming significantly more participatory, with women in particular exercising greater influence in village decision‐making. Yet, there was little evidence of corresponding shifts in discourses of accountability. The NGO we studied fostered practices that aligned with global accountability norms while also accommodating local paternalistic expectations of authority and leadership. Existing studies of vernacularization do not appear to account for such an anomaly, instead assuming that discourse‐oriented strategies change practices. Policy implications The contribution of the article is to bring “accountability” to the vernacularization literature and to expand theories of vernacularization to account for “practice.” The article also has practical implications for organizations seeking to adapt international agendas to diverse and, particularly, illiberal local contexts.