Political scandals are a common feature of modern politics, and they come in all shapes and sizes. They can involve sex, greed, corruption or even just the abuse of power. Some are embarrassing for the involved politicians, others have major consequences for the country, and some bring down entire regimes. But what exactly defines a scandal? And how do they impact the people involved and their voters?
The answers to these questions may surprise you. According to new research from Wioletta Dziuda and William G. Howell from UChicago’s Harris School, the nature and effects of scandal depend heavily on the level of polarization in a political system. The higher the polarization, the less likely a politician’s misbehavior will turn into a scandal. This is because the aligned party wants to shelter its politician from accusations and the opposing party wants to prove those accusations are true, resulting in a highly partisan game of blame and counter-accusation. As a result, the quality of public discourse declines and voters suffer.
Dziuda and Howell have developed a theoretical framework for understanding the emergence and impact of political scandal, and their paper offers important new insights into how this phenomenon works across countries with different political systems and media traditions. Their model provides a framework that can guide future research on the role of polarization in shaping scandal and its consequences, and it suggests that we need to stop thinking of scandals as “bad behavior” that must be weeded out or punished.
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