Toward Democratic Policing in Colombia? Institutional Accountability through Lateral Reform

The accountability of state institutions and rulers is a defining feature of democracy. The police form a key state institution that is targeted for reforms to improve its accountability. The surprising case of increased police accountability in Bogotá, Colombia demonstrates the importance of the political strategy of lateral reform, which successfully mitigated obstacles to police accountability to the state and society. Lateral reform is a sequence of policies that strategically alter the societal context in which reforms take place to increase public support for and participation in reform processes over time. This strategy may strengthen the hand of politicians seeking to increase the accountability of recalcitrant state institutions.