PADM 620 Statesmanship and Ethics
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Dec 6, 2023
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Statesmanship and Ethics
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Statesmanship and Ethics Assignment
Matthew Chance
Liberty University
PADM 620: Public Administration Praxis: Legal & Contemporary Issues
Dr. Belmain
September 10, 2023
Statesmanship and Ethics
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Introduction
The topic of being a statesman is not a new topic because within politics there have
always been people that have tried to do what is best for others besides themselves. This topic
has been debated and talked about for a long time but has not been as main a story as it has been
within the past thirty years. Within the field of public administration it is important to understand
what it means to be a statesman and the qualities that are needed. A statesman could be regarded
as elected political officials or public officials that hold government roles or even leadership
positions. To be a statesman means that you are putting the good of others ahead of your own
personal gain. This could mean using a code of ethics to ensure that each person’s voice is heard
or using those ethics to make the decision that will bring success to each person within the
community. “Statesmanship is one of the most important elements of administrative ethics and
should be a noteworthy topic of discussion within the field of public administration. The
democratic governance process enables public administration, in both theory and practice, to
advance the good of the state” (Newbold, 2005). The question needs to be asked if a statesman
has the capability to change how the citizens view politics. Are they able to bring new ethical
standards that elected officials will want to follow?
The Role Statesman Should Play in Modern Public Administration
Throughout the United States, there are many people who do not understand what it
means to be a statesman, or they do not believe that statesman is a topic that applies to people
that are in public administration. Within government there needs to be leaders that put the benefit
of others ahead of their own political and financial gain because you were elected to represent
the people of your district or state to provide for them. This is something that could be seen as
lost by the people because they do not believe their elected officials are able to put the citizens
Statesmanship and Ethics
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above their own personal gain. This is the reason why statesman are needed more than ever
within government to bring faith back to the people when it comes to their elected officials.
John Shaw wrote an article titled, “
What a Statesman Would Do
” where he talks about
what a statesman is where he says, “Statesmanship is exceptional leadership characterized by
vision, courage, compassion, effectiveness, and civility. It does not expect perfection but assumes
competence and demands excellence. Vision is the ability to see beyond the rush of daily events
and to develop and execute a long-term strategy” (Shaw). It is important to understand what it
means to be a statesman to look at how the role they need to play within public administration.
When it comes to a statesman being in the modern public administration system there are
several things that need to be understood on how a statesman helps. The first thing to understand
is the role that is played by a statesman. Their role is meant to be a person that uses their code of
ethics to put the citizens’ needs above their own financial or political gain. This is not an easy
task to be completed because elected officials have been seen as going into office with little to no
money then all of a sudden being worth a lot of money because the power and influence, they
have obtained.
The second thing that a statesman needs to do within public administration is bring the
trust back to the people. Many people have felt that their elected officials are not trustworthy, and
they have lost faith within the system. “Less than half of U.S. adults (44%) say they have a great
deal or fair amount of confidence in people who hold or are running for public office, rivaling
the record low of 42% from 2016. Meanwhile, a small majority (55%) express a similar level of
confidence in the judgments of the American people under the democratic system, the lowest
Gallup has measured to date but not meaningfully different from 56% readings in 2016 and
2020” (McCarthy, 2021). With people losing trust in their elected officials it is important for
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statesman to step in and bring the trust back from the people every day. This task is going to be
difficult, but this is an important role for statesman within public administration.
Issue of Ethics in Public Administration
Ethics within the field of public administration is something that has been talked about
throughout the years. “Since the 1970s there has been a great deal of change associated with the
implementation of administrative ethics. These changes have been promoted and motivated by
the concept of public administration in the new era. An important position is given to the concept
of ethical issues in today’s civil governance” (Radhika, 2012). With this topic being discussed by
public administration it is important to understand what a code of ethics means. “Ethics refers to
a person’s moral character. Often morals and ethics are used interchangeably due to the similarity
in scope. A person’s character is upheld as ethical when their behaviors are seen as socially
acceptable and positive in relation to the populace” (Stein, 2019).
The issue with ethics in public administration could be seen from several different ways.
The first could be that there are many elected officials that use their power and influence for
political or financial gain. They could start off having a strong sense of morals and ethics but
once deals start to being made many elected officials start to look for new ways to help
themselves out. The second could be that citizens are not able to see behind closed-door deals
that are made, and they believe their elected officials have no ethics. This creates an issue with
ethics because citizens believe that elected officials make promises with their ethics but once
they are in power, they change their viewpoint and will do anything to further their own political
and financial gain.
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According to Dennis Dresang many of the ethical problems that happen in public
administration have come from campaign financing. “Since the 1990s, many of the ethical
problems in U.S. government are related to campaign financing. Political and economic change
along with weak institutions provide opportunities for the unscrupulous in many countries”
(Dresang, 2017, p. 55). A statesman needs to have a high set of morals and ethics to understand
how to make the right decision compared to making an unethical one. This is what makes a
statesman stand apart from others because they have a code of ethics and will not stray from
those ethics at any time.
When there seems to be a loss of ethics from public officials, it starts to create the
problem of distrust. “Successful Public Administration runs on the trust of the constituents.
Behavior that is seen as immoral, or unethical, creates public distrust and hurts the agency’s
reputation” (Stein, 2019). When there is distrust because of ethical questions about elected
officials it usually leads to those elected officials either being voted out of office or having an
opponent when the next political race comes up. Many people view the distrust because of
ethical problems in the United States as a problem that might not be able to be fixed. “The issue
of ethics in government is viewed as a serious problem by about as many people (67%) as drug
addiction – the top issue, at 70%. And 62% say the ability of Democrats and Republicans in
Washington to work together is a very big problem” (Rosenberg, 2020). If people believe that
these ethical problems could not be solved it has the potential to change how the citizens view
the United States government and how they want to participate with elections that are coming up
at the state and federal levels.
Current Ethics in Public Administration
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The American Society for Public Administration has promoted a commitment that public
officials must follow when it comes to the code of ethics. These were first established by the
ASPS in 1984 and then they were revised in 2013 which eventually created the Ethics
Committee that was established in 2014. The ASPA talks about that in public service we need to
uphold principles such as: advance the public interest, uphold the Constitution and the law,
promote democratic participation, strengthen social equity, fully inform and advise, demonstrate
personal integrity, promote ethical organizations, and advance professional excellence. The
ASPA talks about integrity which is important for ethics where they say, “Adhere to the highest
standards of conduct to inspire public confidence and trust in public service” (ASPA, 2023).
With the ASPA setting the standard for ethics, it comes down to the individual code of ethics of
the elected official. They need to be able to fall back on their ethics to ensure they are doing what
is right at all times and will not go down the path of political and financial gain for themselves
instead of others.
Evaluated Considering Biblical Principles
The best guidance that we could receive about how we should act and the ethics we
should have come from the Bible. The Bible tells us, “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do
everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him”
(Colossians 3:17, ESV). This means that whatever you say or do it should be something that
represent the Lord in behavior and ethics. When it comes to being a statesman and how we need
to act the Bible tells us, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility
value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests
of the others” (Philippians 2:3-4, NIV). These Bible verses are important to understand because
they tell us that we need to put others ahead of our own gain which is what a statesman is
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supposed to do and that in everything we do we need to everything in the name of the Lord
because our words and actions come from Him. This means that we need to have ethics in
everything that we say and do.
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References
Code of Ethics. (n.d.). https://www.aspanet.org/ASPA/ASPA/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-
Ethics.aspx
Colossians 3:17 (ESV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?
search=Colossians+3%3A17&version=ESV
Dresang, D. L. (2017). The Public Administration Workbook. Routledge, Taylor & Francis
Group.
McCarthy, B. J. (2021, October 7). In U.S., trust in politicians, voters continues to ebb.
Gallup.com. https://news.gallup.com/poll/355430/trust-politicians-voters-continues-
ebb.aspx
Newbold, S. P. (2005). Statesmanship and Ethics: The Case of Thomas Jefferson's Dirty Hands.
Public Administration Review, 65(6), 669-677. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-
6210.2005.00496.x
Philippians 2:3-4 (NIV). (n.d.). Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?
search=Philippians%202:3-4&version=NIV
Radhika, D. (2012). Ethics in Public Administration. Journal of Public Administration and Policy
Research, 4(2, 23–31. https://doi.org/10.5897/JPAPR11.049
Rosenberg, S. (2020, May 30). Distrust in America viewed as problem | Pew Research Center.
Pew Research Center - U.S. Politics & Policy.
https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2019/07/22/how-americans-see-problems-of-trust/
Statesmanship and Ethics
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Shaw, J. (n.d.). What A Statesman Would Do | Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | SIU. Paul
Simon Public Policy Institute. https://paulsimoninstitute.siu.edu/initiatives/what-a-
statesman-would-do.php#:~:text=Statesmanship%20is%20exceptional%20leadership
%20characterized%20by%20vision%2C%20courage%2C,to%20develop%20and
%20execute%20a%20long%20term%20strategy.
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