Leadership Style, Crisis Response and Blame Management: The Case of Hurricane Katrina

18 Pages Posted: 19 Jan 2013

See all articles by Arjen Boin

Arjen Boin

Utrecht School of Governance; Louisiana State University

Paul 't Hart

Australian National University (ANU) - School of Social Sciences

Allan McConnell

The University of Sydney - School of Social and Political Sciences

Thomas A. Preston

Washington State University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: January 18, 2010

Abstract

Crisis management research has largely ignored one of the most pressing challenges political leaders are confronted with in the wake of a large-scale extreme event: how to cope with what is commonly called the blame game. In this article, we provide a heuristic to help understand political leader responses to blame in the aftermath of crises, emphasizing the crucial role of their leadership style on the political management of Inquiries. After integrating theoretical and empirical findings on crisis management and political leadership styles, we illustrate our heuristic by applying it to the Bush administration’s response to Hurrican Katrina in 2005. We conclude by offering suggestions for further research on the underdeveloped subject of the blame management challenges faced by political leaders in the wake of acute crisis episodes.

Suggested Citation

Boin, Arjen and Hart, Paul 't and McConnell, Allan and Preston, Thomas A., Leadership Style, Crisis Response and Blame Management: The Case of Hurricane Katrina (January 18, 2010). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2202745 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2202745

Arjen Boin (Contact Author)

Utrecht School of Governance ( email )

Postbox 80145
Utrecht, 3508 TC
Netherlands

Louisiana State University ( email )

Baton Rouge, LA 70803
United States

Paul 't Hart

Australian National University (ANU) - School of Social Sciences ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200
Australia

Allan McConnell

The University of Sydney - School of Social and Political Sciences ( email )

Room 140, level 1,
RC Mills Building A26
Sydney, New South Wales NSW 2006
Australia
+61 (0)2-9036-9079 (Phone)
+61 (0)2-9351-3624 (Fax)

Thomas A. Preston

Washington State University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Johnson Tower 802
PO Box 6448800
Pullman, WA 99164-4880
United States

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