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The topic of statesmanship has been largely neglected by public administration scholars. This article underscores the moral dilemmas and implications that arise when statesmen abandon their principles for the good of the state, as was the case when Thomas Jefferson purchased the Louisiana Territory from France without congressional consent. This example draws our attention to the important connections between statesmanship and administrative ethics. Jefferson's decision to abandon his strict constructionist principles to acquire Louisiana illustrates the ethical complexities of public administration, public management, and the democratic governance process.
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. When public servants, whether they are elected or appointed, make extraordinary decisions that elevate them to the level of statesmen despite the ethical consequences to their individual self, they are ensuring the preservation of the very state that is intrinsically connected to public administration (Terry 1990, 2002).
Public administration courses devoted to developing students' advanced understanding of moral reasoning, democratic governance, public management, and topics in policy studies-at both the MPA and doctoral level-should emphasize what characteristics make up statesmanship within each of these contexts. Unfortunately, in most graduate programs of public administration, this does not occur, largely because statesmanship is a difficult concept to understand. A homogeneous definition does not exist. Max Weber (1958). Richard Neustadt (1990), Werner Dannhauser (1980), Mark Moore (1980), Herbert Storing (1980), David and Roberta Schaefer (1992), and John Rohr (1988) are among the few scholars who have focused on expanding our knowledge of statesmanship while reminding public administrators, public managers, and political scientists of its importance to the practice of good government. A more comprehensive understanding of the value-added dimension that the study of statesmanship brings to public-sector ethics would enhance the field's overall awareness of the ethical complexities associated with democratic governance, public administration, and public management at the highest levels of government.
Contemporary political theorists such as Isaiah Berlin (1990) and Sheldon Wolin (1969, 2004) have maintained that political theory is particularly concerned with connecting the past to the present by means of developing...