Recovering responsibility and integrity in public service - a focus on fundamental principles and values of governance

Public administration and the public service are facing a crisis. Whether it is casual claims of a “deep state” conspiracy in the United States or the seeming tolerance of authoritarian governments by the electorates in South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa the idea and ideal of professionalised bureaucracy as fundamental to modern government is being challenged in a way not seen since the emergence of professional governance at the end of the 19th century. The purpose of this article is to bring the discourse back to a focus on fundamental principles and values of governance.The article adopted a qualitative observational analysis by comparing, contrasting and critically analysing relevant data and knowledge pertaining to the values of governance in the context of integrity and responsibility in the public service. Specifically, it synthesises literature and examines two fundamental governance values that continue to attract scholarly attention — integrity and responsibility. As developed here these two value perspectives are linked in the idea and ideal of theoretical insight and professional practice. The research approach also included specific unobtrusive research techniques such as concept analysis, historical analysis and documentary analysis to eliminate bias and promote conceptual and contextual analysis (Auriacombe 2016).