Political Ethics: A Handbook

"What is the relationship between politics and morality? Should politicians violate moral constraints to achieve greater goods or to avoid disasters? Is it always wrong for politicians to lie and deceive? In Political Ethics: A Handbook, edited by AndrewSabl and Edward Hall, a collection of leading experts in the field of political ethics offer an introduction to the key issues in this rapidly growing subfield of political theory. The essays cover a broad range of topics and themes relevant to stable democracies around the world, including the ethics of lobbying, leadership, partisanship, secrecy and whistleblowing, the role of representatives, compromise, emergency powers, political activism, public administration, and political corruption. These essays are written at a level accessible to undergraduates, as well as advanced scholars seeking scholarly introductions to the topics covered. Ultimately, the book considers how to evaluate political conduct from a realistic but ethically demanding standpoint, and offers a clear-eyed analysis of the ethical challenges inherent in political life in the twenty-first century"--
A comprehensive introduction to contemporary political ethicsWhat is the relationship between politics and morality? May politicians bend moral constraints in the name of political necessity? Is it always wrong for leaders to lie? How much political compromise is too much (or too little)? In Political Ethics, some of the world’s leading thinkers in politics, philosophy, and related fields offer a comprehensive and accessible introduction to key issues in this rapidly growing area of political theory.In a series of original essays, the contributors examine a range of urgent political problems: lies and deception, compromise and refusal to compromise, the meaning and limits of political integrity, representation and failures of representation, good and bad democratic leadership, the virtues and excesses of partisanship, administrative ethics, political corruption, whistleblowing, legitimate and illegitimate claims of political emergency, and lobbying. What emerges are realistic but demanding ethical standards—and a clear-eyed understanding of the ethical challenges of political life in the twenty-first century.With contributions by Richard Bellamy, Alin Fumurescu, Edward Hall, Suzanne Dovi and Jesse McCain, Eric Beerbohm, Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum, Joseph Heath, Elizabeth David-Barrett and Mark Philp, Michele Bocchiola and Emanuela Ceva, Nomi Lazar, Phil Parvin, and Andrew Sabl.