Den gode byråkraten – Byråkratisk etik i en demokratisk stat

Sammanfattning: This Bachelor thesis examines the problem of implementation which can arise within the separation of the Swedish parliament and the executive bureaucracies. The question is answered mainly with help from the values presented in Dahl’s theory of democracy (2002) and Lundquist’s theories of bureaucratic ethics (1988 & 1998) together with the Government Offices’ values for civil servants. In the time of democratic recession the bureaucrats’ ethical compasses becomes more important. The bureaucrats are given the possibility of taking the role as guardians of democracy who protects demos from getting harmed and maintains the desirable values of democracy within the frames of polyarchy. The question at issue is under what circumstances can discrepancy from political decisions be justified. It is targeted from a normative methodological perspective where different given norms is applied to a hypothetical case that the bureaucrats can face. The result of the analysis is that, in this specific case, discrepancy from the political decision cannot be justified from a deontological perspective. It can, however, be justified from a teleological perspective where the bureaucrat considers the consequences of strictly following the decision. This shows that one can get different answers to the same question, depending on what values and ethical logics one is using to justify the action.