Managing politics? Ethics regulation and conflicting conceptions of 'good conduct'

Cowell, Richard ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1639-8004, Downe, James ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0772-3183 and Morgan, Karen 2014. Managing politics? Ethics regulation and conflicting conceptions of 'good conduct'. Public Administration Review 74 (1) , pp. 29-38. 10.1111/puar.12135

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Abstract

Concern to foster trust in public institutions has prompted many governments to invest in systems of ethics regulation, embracing various dimensions of good governance. This paper assesses the impact of ethics regulation on the conduct of local politicians, using Foucauldian perspectives on government, power and resistance. Our research, which focuses on English local government, found that ethics regulation encountered problems where politicians resisted the models of political identity and behaviour it was perceived to promote. Particular concentrations of misconduct complaints were identified where politicians believed that changes to political management structures, designed to make local governance more effective, caused a loss of voice for elected representatives. The paper concludes with reflections on how far we should expect political conduct to be managed by such regulatory practices.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Geography and Planning (GEOPL) Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management J Political Science > JS Local government Municipal government
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	0033-3352
Last Modified:	11 May 2023 01:10
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/48511

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