Abstract
Some political scientists have dismissed the Ombudsman as merely the latest in a series of administrative palliatives embraced by frustrated political engineers and Utopian administrators. However, the world-wide popular interest in and academic speculation about the Ombudsman (which have reached such proportions that one Ombudsman advocate has labelled them Ombudsmania) dictate that the Ombudsman should be seriously studied by political scientists. Surprisingly, only one comparative survey, undertaken by an administrative lawyer, has been made of the actual workings of Ombudsmen in their native habitats. Since its invention in Sweden in 1809, the institution has been transferred to Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Norway, Guyana, Tanzania, Great Britain, and the Canadian Province of Alberta; but no depth study has yet been done of the impact of introducing an Ombudsman into a political system.
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