Not Biting the Hand That Feeds You: How Perverted Accountability Affects the Ethical Leadership of Dutch Mayors

Karsten, N. (2019). Not biting the hand that feeds you: how perverted accountability affects the ethical leadership of Dutch mayors. Public Integrity.

Tilburg Law School Research Paper Forthcoming

11 Pages Posted: 20 Aug 2019

See all articles by Niels Karsten

Niels Karsten

Tilburg Institute of Governance; Tilburg University

Date Written: July 16, 2019

Abstract

Dutch mayors are in the curious position that, by law, they are required to act against any integrity violations by their fellow political executives and municipal councillors. At the same time, they are fully accountable to the local council and increasingly dependent on the political support of those they oversee for remaining in office and for their capacity to govern. Data collected from four focus groups and nine interviews indicate that this dependence has produced a precarious situation of ‘perverted accountability’ in which mayors, because they perceive social and career risks, are more likely to refrain from assertive action against integrity violations than the accountability and ethical leadership literature suggests. Here, it is argued that there is an institutional aspect to such reluctance to be an effective moral leader that goes beyond Dutch mayors simply having weak personalities. The current study finds support for the unfashionable argument that accountability can be bad for democracy. It contributes to the study of ethical leadership by identifying perceived personal and positional risks as real-life impediments to ethical leadership and by drawing attention to the complexities of ethical leadership in the realm of politics.

Keywords: ethical leadership, accountability, mayors, the Netherlands

Suggested Citation

Karsten, Niels and Karsten, Niels, Not Biting the Hand That Feeds You: How Perverted Accountability Affects the Ethical Leadership of Dutch Mayors (July 16, 2019). Karsten, N. (2019). Not biting the hand that feeds you: how perverted accountability affects the ethical leadership of Dutch mayors. Public Integrity., Tilburg Law School Research Paper Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3438340

Niels Karsten (Contact Author)

Tilburg University ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
Tilburg, DC Noord-Brabant 5000 LE
Netherlands

Tilburg Institute of Governance ( email )

Tilburg, 5000 LE
Netherlands
0031134663755 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.tilburguniversity.edu/webwijs/show/?uid=n.karsten

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