Integrity Scandals of Politicians: A Political Integrity Index

Abstract

How often are politicians confronted with public allegations of integrity violations? Which types of violations, government levels, and parties do these scandals involve? The Political Integrity Index developed in The Netherlands offers information about the number and types of political integrity scandals in the country since 2013. This article presents a brief overview of the relevant literature on integrity and corruption and on political scandals, with a summary of the conceptual framework and methodology used in our research, as well as some of the results. In the years 2013-2019, 355 political integrity scandals were documented, primarily at the local level of government (79%), involving almost all political parties but with the liberal-conservative People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie [VVD]) most prominent (90 scandals), and containing all types of integrity violations, with as the most prominent type "misconduct in the private sphere" (30%). The topic of integrity scandals involving politicians is relevant but nearly absent in research on public integrity and corruption. This is a challenge and an invitation to researchers in other countries to do comparable research, which might result in a theoretically and practically useful international political integrity index. For that research, the framework of the Political Integrity Index seems useful.

Civil servants’ integrity in public sector: the case of Nepal

“…Integrity denotes consistency between rules and behaviour, and is required to understand the spirit of the law and behave accordingly ( Kaptein, 2014 ). Integrity emphasizes ‘lawfulness-acting in following the rules and norms of the law’ ( Huberts et al., 2022 , p. 330). Compliance positively affects civil servants’ integrity in delivering public service.…”

“…The notion of integrity has acquired prominence in governance and administration literature. While integrity has become a central concept and topic in government and governance research and actual policy making at all levels, multiple perspectives and interpretations exist ( Huberts et al., 2022 ). Integrity is a value-laden concept ( Haruna, 2008 ), and has no perfect universally agreed definition (Cox et al., 2008; cited in Brillantes and Fernandez, 2011 ).…”

“…Integrity is a value-laden concept ( Haruna, 2008 ), and has no perfect universally agreed definition (Cox et al., 2008; cited in Brillantes and Fernandez, 2011 ). Many scholars define integrity as wholeness or consistency, while others define it as synonymous with specific values such as honesty, reliability, or incorruptibility ( Huberts et al., 2022 ). Montefiore and Vines (1999) state that integrity is a sense of completeness, wholeness, coherence, and consistency of principles and values.…”

“…Many scholars carried out studies on unethical behavior, ethics, corruption, codes of conduct, public integrity, governments’ integrity, integrity management, integrity system, and integrity violation (see: Grundstein-Amado, 2001 ; Balogun, 2003 ; Walker, 2005 ; Bhattarai, 2009 ; Briggs, 2009 ; Shakya, 2009 ; Hoekstra and Kaptein, 2012 ; Elcock, 2012 ; Lawton et al., 2013 ; Haruna, 2008 ; Huberts, 2014 , 2018 ; Hubert and Van Montfort, 2020 ; Ertas, 2021 ; Khadka and Bhattarai, 2021 ; Hoekstra et al., 2022 ; Huberts et al., 2022 ; Neupane et al., 2022 ). The studies provide different perspectives and theoretical frameworks to understand public service values and ethos.…”

The Effects of Organizational Scandals on the Desirability of Public Organizations as Places to Work: Evidence From the VA Waitlist Scandal

“…Scandals—such as the VA waitlist example—are generally defined as “violations of accepted values and social norms, which are exposed through the media, [and] arouse public criticism and anger” (Huberts et al, 2022, p. 333). Public administration scholars have extensively explored two aspects of organizational scandals.…”