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How to Whistle-Blow: Dissensus and Demand

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Abstract

What makes an external whistleblower effective? Whistleblowers represent an important conduit for dissensus, providing valuable information about ethical breaches and organizational wrongdoing. They often speak out about injustice from a relatively weak position of power, with the aim of changing the status quo. But many external whistleblowers fail in this attempt to make their claims heard and thus secure change. Some can experience severe retaliation and public blacklisting, while others are ignored. This article examines how whistleblowers can succeed in bringing their claims to the public’s attention. We draw on analyses of political struggle by Ernesto Laclau and Chantal Mouffe. Specifically, we propose that through the raising of a demand, the whistleblowing subject can emerge as part of a chain of equivalences, in a counter-hegemonic movement that challenges the status quo. An analysis of a high-profile case of tax justice whistleblowing-that of Rudolf Elmer-illustrates our argument. Our proposed theoretical framing builds upon and contributes to literature on whistleblowing as organizational parrhesia by demonstrating how parrhesiastic demand might lead to change in public perception through the formation of alliances with other disparate interests—albeit that the process is precarious and complex. Practically, our article illuminates a persistent concern for those engaged in dissensus via whistleblowing, and whose actions are frequently ignored or silenced. We demonstrate how such actions can move towards securing public support in order to make a difference and achieve change.

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Notes

  1. For more on this, see Liberte-info (2011) and Elmer’s submission to the European Court of Human Rights (Footnote 3).

  2. The American Polygraph Association (APA) explicitly advises against using the tests for such purposes. It was claimed by JB that such rules apply in the United States, but not the Cayman Islands (Evidence 29 Consent Form Polygraph Test, 21.11.2002).

  3. Evidence 11. In Submission to European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) by Rudolf Elmer. Translation available: https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Rudolf_Elmer_files_against_Swiss_banking_secrecy_at_ECHR, May 13, 2008. Evidence 21. In Submission to European Court for Human Rights (ECHR) by Rudolf Elmer. Translation available: https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Rudolf_Elmer_files_against_Swiss_banking_secrecy_at_ECHR, May 13, 2008.

  4. Particularly Article 47. He was also charged with document forgery, and for sending ‘threatening messages’ to staff at Julius Bär. In response to the charges of document forgery, Elmer reported that he had altered the names of files to make them clearly identifiable. He also wrote false letters to tax authorities, including letters in which he pretended to be a repentant evader and confessing their misdemeanor. He was insistent that he had not altered the actual contents of any documents. Contacting JB for a response, the Guardian asked the bank to identify a single document that they claim had been forged. They declined to do so. http://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/feb/13/tax-gap-cayman-islands.

  5. His complaint was about Article 47 of Swiss law, which had left him unprotected. He appealed to the ECHR that the level of threats against his family had risen and that they were increasingly afraid.

  6. See the case of Henry Kieber.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the editors of this special issue for their kind and constructive comments. We are grateful to Liam Farrell, Andrea Whittle, and Frank Muellar for helpful comments, and to convenors and attendees of the EGOS 2017 (sub-theme 12) and International Whistleblowing Research Network 2017 conferences.

Funding

This study was funded by NUI Galway’s Millennium Grant

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  1. JE Cairnes School of Business and Economics; Whitaker Institute, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland

    Kate Kenny

  2. Irish Centre for Human Rights, NUI Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland

    Alexis Bushnell

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Correspondence to Kate Kenny.

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Kenny, K., Bushnell, A. How to Whistle-Blow: Dissensus and Demand. J Bus Ethics 164, 643–656 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04401-7

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