LEADERSHIP STYLE, CRISIS RESPONSE AND BLAME MANAGEMENT: THE CASE OF HURRICANE KATRINA

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.2010.01836.x Byline: ARJEN BOIN (1), PAUL 'T HART (2), ALLAN McCONNELL (3), THOMAS PRESTON (4) 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. Author Affiliation: (1)Arjen Boin is affiliated with the Utrecht School of Governance and the Public Administration Institute, Louisiana State University. (2)Paul 't Hart is in the Research School of Social Sciences, Australian National University. (3)Allan McConnell is a Professor of Politics at the University of Strathclyde and the University of Sydney. (4)Thomas Preston is in the Department of Political Science, Washington State University. Article History: Date received 29 January 2008. Date accepted 22 October 2008.