One increasingly popular device for achieving a balance between authority and accountability in government is the institution of the ombudsman. The first non-Scandinavian ombudsman appeared in New Zealand in 1962, and since then the office has spread to many countries and been adopted at different levels of government. This book--the first intensive study of New Zealand's "model" ombudsman- seeks to understand the process by which the institution was successfully adapted and made a part of New Zealand's political system.

The author's inquiry is based on eighteen months of field...