Government Ethics Specialists Need Not Apply
I just received an e-mail announcing a search for a new editor of
the journal <i>Public Integrity</i>, the only academic journal in the field
in which I work. Here is the description of the journal by its
publisher on <a href="http://www.mesharpe.com/mall/results1.asp?ACR=pin" target="”_blank”">the
journal's webpage</a>:<blockquote>
Governance is changing rapidly, and change brings compelling ethical
challenges. Sponsored by the American Society for Public
Administration (ASPA), International City/County Management
Association (ICMA), Council of State Governments (CSG), and the
Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL), <i>Public Integrity</i> is the
foremost journal on ethics and leadership in all aspects of modern
public service. Written for both scholars and practitioners as well
as concerned citizens, its driving force is the notion of integrity
that is so basic a part of democratic life. The journal features
refereed articles, case studies, exemplar profiles, field reports,
commentaries, and book reviews on a broad spectrum of ethical
concerns in local, state, national, and international affairs.</blockquote>
Here are the qualifications for this position, according to the
announcement:<blockquote>
Applicants should be ASPA members who have made substantial
contributions to the field of leadership ethics.</blockquote>
Few members of two of the organizations that co-sponsor the
publication with the ASPA are ASPA members. Few members of COGEL,
which focuses on the administration of government
ethics programs and which is the only one of these organizations that I have been a
member of, even know what "leadership ethics" is. (According to the current editor of the journal, the focus is on the ethics of policy choices and organizational outcomes.)<br>
<br>
The CSG is focused on leadership, but appears to provide little in
the way of resources about ethics.<br>
<br>
Of the three, members of the ICMA are the ones most likely to be ASPA members too. The
ICMA does provide resources and advice about ethics, but it mostly involves its own ethics code, which applies only to local administrators, not to elected or appointed officials, attorneys, and consultants, not to mention contractors and grantees, who have the most conflicts of interest issues to deal with.<br>
<br>
In short, by so limiting who may apply for the job of
editor, <i>Public Integrity</i>'s board appears to want to keep the journal
limited to a field of "ethics" that does not include government
ethics programs. Governance may be changing, as the journal's
description states, but the journal does not appear willing to open
itself to the possibility of change, as well.<br>
<br>
Robert Wechsler<br>
Director of Research-Retired, City Ethics<br>
<br>
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