When Bureaucrats Say No: Strategies of Ethical Dissent in American Public Administration

This study examines ethical resistance within American public administration, focusing on how career civil servants navigate conflicts between hierarchical authority and professional ethical obligations. Building upon O'Leary's conceptualization of "guerrilla government," this research addresses the critical question: How do public servants in the United States use resistance strategies to oppose immoral or illegal directives? Through systematic analysis of documented cases across multiple federal agencies and administrations, this paper develops a comprehensive typology of strategies to confront unethical directives.