Have senior public servants abandoned impartiality and become the government’s cheerleader?

What is it about?

There is a great deal of scholarly debate over whether senior public servants are increasingly being politicized to the determent of impartiality. Investigating the loyalty displayed by the highest ranking public servant during a recent high-profile public affair in Canada, this study shows that not only did the public servant move away from impartiality in order to promote and defend the government’s reputation, but that to do so, he engaged in truth-obfuscating tactics of withholding information, emphasizing certain facts over others, and making false statements.

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Photo by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash

Photo by Kevin Grieve on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The findings show that senior public servants are not only defending and promoting the government’s reputation but are doing so to the determine of impartiality and truthfulness.