Political scandal explained

In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, party officials and lobbyists can be accused of various illegal, corrupt, unethical or sexual practices.^[1] Politicians and officials who are embroiled in scandals are more likely to retire or get lower vote shares.^{[2] [3]}

Journalism

Scandal sells, and broadsides, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines and the electronic media have covered it in depth. The Muckraker movement in American journalism was a component of the Progressive Era in the U.S. in the early 20th century. Journalists have built their careers on exposure of corruption and political scandal, often acting on behalf of the opposition party.^[4] The political ideology of media owners plays a role—they prefer to target the opposition but will reluctantly cover their own side.^{[5] [6]} Journalists have to frame the story in terms of the audience's values and expectations to maximize the impact.^[7]

Lists by country

• • Albania – Political scandals of Albania
• Argentina – List of political scandals in Argentina
• Australia – List of Australian political controversies
• Austria – List of political scandals in Austria
• Belgium – Belgian political scandals
• Canada – List of Canadian political scandals
• Chile – Chilean political scandals
• Colombia – Colombian parapolitics scandal
• France – French political scandals
• Germany – German political scandals
• Iceland – Icelandic political scandals
• India – Indian political scandals
• Ireland – Irish political scandals
• Italy – Italian political scandals
• Japan – Black Mist Scandal (Japanese politics)
• Lithuania – Corruption in Lithuania
• New Zealand – List of political scandals in New Zealand
• Malaysia – List of scandals in Malaysia
• Philippines – List of political scandals in the Philippines
• Poland - List of political scandals in Poland
• Slovakia – List of Slovak political scandals
• Slovenia – 1975 Zaliv Scandal
• South Korea – Political scandals in South Korea
• United Kingdom – List of political scandals in the United Kingdom
• United States – List of federal political scandals in the United States
• Ukraine – List of political scandals in Ukraine

See also

• Deviancy amplification spiral
• Mass media
• Moral panic
• Sensationalism
• Sex scandal

Further reading

• Canel, Maria Jose and Karen Sanders. Morality Tales: Political Scandals and Journalism in Britain and Spain in the 1990s (2005)
• Dagnes, Alison and Mark Sachleben. "Scandal! An Interdisciplinary Approach to the Consequences, Outcomes, and Significance of Political Scandals" (Bloomsbury 2013)
• Dziuda, Wioletta; Howell, William G. 2020. "Political Scandal: A Theory." American Journal of Political Science.
• Fisher, Trevor. Scandal: Sexual Politics of Late Victorian Britain (1995)
• Giroux, Gary. Business Scandals, Corruption, and Reform: An Encyclopedia (2013)
• Grossman, Mark. Political Corruption in America: An Encyclopedia of Scandals, Power, and Greed (2008)
• Heidenheimer, Arnold and M. Johnston. Political corruption: Concepts and contexts (2002)
• King, Anthony. Sex, Money and Power: Political Scandals in Great Britain and the United States (1984)
• Kohn, George C. The New Encyclopedia of American Scandal (2000)
• MacMullen, Ramsay. Corruption and the Decline of Rome (1990)
• Scott, James C. Comparative political corruption (1972)
• Temple, Kathryn. Scandal Nation: Law and Authorship in Britain, 1750–1832 (2002)

Notes and References

1. King, 1984
2. Gulati. Jeff. Brown. Lara M.. 2021-01-02. The Personal is Political: Reconsidering the Impact of Scandals on Congressional Incumbents. Congress & the Presidency. 48. 1. 25–49. 10.1080/07343469.2020.1788665. 232223414. 0734-3469.
3. Rottinghaus . Brandon . 2023 . Do Scandals Matter? . Political Research Quarterly . en . 10.1177/10659129231185532 . 259609431 . 1065-9129.
4. Achter, P. J. (2000). "Narrative, intertextuality, and apologia in contemporary political scandals. Southern Journal of Communication, 65(4), 318–333.
5. Puglisi, R., & Snyder, J. M. Jr. (2011). "Newspaper Coverage of Political Scandals", Journal of Politics 73(3), 1–20.
6. Thompson, J. B. (1997). "Scandal and social theory" in J. Lull & S. Hinerman (Eds.), Media scandals: Morality and desire in the popular culture marketplace pp. 34–64). (Cambridge, England: Polity Press).
7. Yioutas, J., & Segvic, I. (2003). "Revisiting the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal: The convergence of agenda setting and framing." Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly 80(3), 567–582.