New Directions in Ombud Research: Empirical and Critical Perspectives (Oñati International Series in Law and Society)

This book brings together theoretical and empirical research, as well as interdisciplinary and comparative studies with the aim to direct the contemporary debates within the field of ombud scholarship. Most countries have public ombud institutions that are supposed to function as mechanisms of dispute resolution outside courts for citizens seeking redress for complaints against public bodies.While research on these oversight bodies has long focused on legal aspects, since the last decade scholars have increasingly become interested in historical, political and social aspects.This book makes a contribution in this multi-disciplinary field by filling two key gaps in the literature: the first part showcases recent empirical research, the second part covers critical analytical approaches. Taken together, this volume promotes a social science oriented understanding of ombud institutions as embedded in specific social contexts, which are formed by societal forces while also contributing to t