The abuse of entrusted power for private gain, often involving corruption and unethical behavior. A political scandal can derail a politician’s career, prompt legislative responses, and shape public discourse about ethical conduct in politics. Its long-term impact can be seen in ongoing debates about government reforms to enhance transparency and accountability.
This week on Politics in Question, Lee and Julia talk with Charles Hunt and Jaclyn Kettler, two Political Science Professors at Boise State University (BSU). They are the hosts of the podcast Scandalized, where they unpack a different political scandal each episode.
A major insight from their work is that scandal arises from the interaction between politicians and voters. In a political landscape of intense polarization, the aligned party has incentives to shelter its politician from scandal and to persuade voters that its rival is corrupt, even if its accusations are based on flimsy evidence. Consequently, the occurrence of more scandals does not necessarily mean that politicians behave worse; it simply means that they are exposed to a greater degree of dishonesty.
Research to date has found that the effects of scandalous information vary depending on important moderator variables such as citizens’ general level of trust and cynicism, the specific political party involved in the scandal, the type of scandal, and the way that the news media depicts the story. Furthermore, a number of studies have examined the effects of scandals on the perception of democracy, the acceptability of the politician’s misconduct, and gaze following during exposure to potentially scandalous politicians.