Political scandal occurs when a politician or government institution is accused of violating laws or ethical standards, usually with public exposure (such as investigations, leaks, or media coverage). Such transgressions can cause leaders to lose trust and lead to political consequences such as resigning from office, losing elections, or passing new laws.
While a scandal can be damaging, it also can force politicians to reform and strengthen their relationships with citizens, thereby improving democracy. This article examines how political scandals emerge and their effects, drawing on a large literature that spans a range of disciplines, including communication research, political science, sociology, and psychology.
The results reveal that a scandal’s impact depends on five central moderators, including candidate characteristics, behaviors, prior attitudes, context, and scandal type. The results also show that there are four critical stages in the process of a scandal emerging: (1) public anxiety, (2) the crystallizing event, (3) initial evasion or denial, and (4) official validation. This last stage is key because it demonstrates to the public that the issue is legitimate and worthy of further inquiry.
A model based on this research suggests that political polarization drives scandal, encouraging politicians in an aligned party to hide misconduct by members of the opposing party and to accuse them of misbehavior even when the accusations are based on flimsy evidence. This polarization diminishes the value of political discourse and ultimately hurts voters. In contrast, the model also shows that non-partisanship is associated with fewer scandals.