Unmasking Administrative Evil

Stigmatization and prejudice during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Public employees may rationalize their behavior as "not that bad" or even correct because the behavior is masked in adherence to the established rules and expectations of the job. Administrative evil is imbued with racism (Balfour et al, 2020), amplified through racist ideas spread by unreputable (e.g., "fake") news outlets negatively impacting policy that afflict communities of color (Heckler & Ronquillo, 2019). This administrative evil is exemplified by both older incidents in the U.S., such as 1920s immigration laws refusing to permit Chinese or Japanese immigrants to become citizens (Balfour et al, 2020), or a top ranking general labeling the all Japanese as "an enemy race" (Chou & Feagin, 2015, p. 7), and more recent events, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Maria, or the separation of migrant children from their families at the U.S./Mexico border, (Heckler & Ronquillo, 2019).…”

“…In 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed preventing Chinese nationals from immigrating to or obtaining citizenship in the U.S. The law was not repealed until 1943 (AAPF, 2020), coinciding with the WWII internment of those with Japanese ancestry whose property was confiscated or forcibly sold (Balfour, Adams, & Nickels, 2020). The "otherness" attributed to the people of China, Japan, and much of the Eastern hemisphere is rooted not only in social, cultural, and religious differences but also in centuries of European imperialism and conquest (Said, 1978).…”

The rationale for embedding ethics and public value in public administration programmes

“…Evil as 'the actions of human beings that unjustly or needlessly inflict pain and suffering and even death on other human beings' (Adams and Balfour, 2014: 3) differs from administrative evil. The latter is allowed by a culture of technical rationality (Balfour et al, 2019) rooted in individualism (Adam, 2011) as well as compartmentalisation, legalism, hierarchical accountability and dehumanisation (Hoffman et al, 2012). Administrative evil, which results in harm to people, is often carried out by ordinary people when doing their jobs, masked by the administrative apparatus and moral inversion (Clark and Nickels, 2020), is slightly different from maladministration that often results from inefficient or dishonest administration.…”

From the leader’s lips, to the public’s ears: The state of exception, administrative evil, and the enemy in President Trump’s rhetoric during COVID-19

“…The presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, which relentlessly framed illegal immigration as a threat or crisis to the nation (Pierce, 2019, p. 1), paved the way for family separations and the detention of migrants (including children and pregnant women) in facilities with "open toilets, constant light exposure, insufficient food and water, extreme temperatures," and inadequate sleeping arrangements (Kids in Cages, 2019). A common denominator across these crisis periods is that each moment opened a window of opportunity for the establishment of a tangible state of exception (i.e., the prison, the camp, the migrant detention center) for supposed threats or enemies and administrative evil therein (see also Agamben, 1995Agamben, / 1998Balfour et al, 2020;Stivers, 2008).…”

“…decide who is expendable or even a threat in the coming postcrisis normal. The sovereign may go so far as to build tangible states of exception that become sites of administrative evil-public acts of evil or wrongdoing, ranging from white lies to genocide (Balfour, Adams, & Nickels, 2020; see also Adams, 2011;Clark & Nickels, 2020)against would-be enemies. Every declaration of the state of exception is susceptible to exceptional disregard and violence against those the sovereign fights against.…”