Don't Cry for Me Sri Lanka: Beyond Individualisation Towards Responsible Policy Capacity in Public Sector Administration

ABSTRACT This study examines how pervasively corrupt resource‐poor national contexts promote individualisation in public sector leadership (PSL), adversely impacting policy capacity. We argue that the overbearing systemic unethical national contexts can tempt public officials to succumb to unscrupulous practices, undermining strong regulatory mechanisms and policy capacity. Using a triangulated approach that includes in‐depth interviews, secondary data, and ethnographic material, the research presents two case studies in the Sri Lankan national context. We engage a systems perspective of Responsible Leadership to address individualisation in PSL and promote responsibleness in policy capacity. We address a glaring gap in the extant PSL and policy capacity theory by developing a responsible policy capacity framework consisting of the three pillars of responsibleness—ethics, effectiveness and endurance.