Ubuntu and Ethical Leadership in Fragile States: Towards A Hybrid Framework for Organisational Governance

Abstract

Objective: This article develops a conceptual framework that integrates Ubuntu with Western ethical traditions, compliance-based accountability, and organisational resilience theory. Prior Work: Fragile states pose profound ethical dilemmas for leaders who must reconcile national interests, humanitarian obligations, and institutional mandates amid volatility and weak governance. Existing ethical leadership models, largely rooted in Western duty-based traditions, presuppose institutional stability and often fail to capture the relational realities of fragile contexts. By contrast, African communitarian ethics, particularly Ubuntu, foreground human dignity, relational accountability, and communal responsibility, yet lack operational clarity for institutional governance. Approach: Through a critical synthesis of literature on ethical leadership, fragile states, and defence diplomacy, the framework positions ethical leadership as both principled and pragmatic. Results: It advances theory by bridging traditions and extending accountability beyond binary compliance-versus-values approaches, while reframing resilience as ethically grounded adaptation. Value: The article contributes to scholarship by offering a culturally resonant yet globally relevant conceptual model of ethical leadership. Practically, it provides guidance for leaders in fragile states and volatile organisational environments, positioning ethical leadership not only as a moral imperative but also as a strategic resource for legitimacy and resilience.