Integrity regulation? Towards a regulation subfield.

Is there such a thing as integrity regulation? We are well aware of the existence of numerous policies that are pertinent to the pursuit of integrity in public life, from anticorruption to judicial policy to policies pursued by various public sector watchdogs. Yet still, can integrity regulation be defined, and potentially distinguished, as a subfield within the wider area of regulatory governance? This paper argues that, in the scholarship on regulatory governance, integrity regulation has not yet consolidated as a “stand-alone” (sub)field, but that, given the realities and the increasing prominence of ethics in public life, it could be. The paper seeks to define integrity regulation positioning it within the context of several adjacent and overlapping areas of regulation and broader governance studies, including ‘regulation within government’, anticorruption, the traditional area of prosecution and justice policy, and several other emerging and sector-specific policies. The paper seeks to provide a theoretical case for consolidation and study of integrity governance, as a distinct regulation area, and position it conceptually vis-a-vis other areas of regulation and governance inquiry. Finally, the paper will discuss how prior research pertaining to issues around public integrity could be consolidated into the emerging field of integrity regulation and map out its potential themes of inquiry and research challenges and opportunities.