In
politics
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...
, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage.
Politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
s,
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
officials,
party
A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...
officials and
lobbyists
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, whi ...
can be accused of various illegal,
corrupt
Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense which is undertaken by a person or an organization which is entrusted in a position of authority, in order to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's personal gain. Corruption m ...
,
unethical
Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...
or
sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
practices. Scandalized politicians are more likely to retire or get lower vote shares.
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
The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...
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.
There are numerous contextual factors that make a scandal noteworthy, such as the importance of the people, the depth of conspiracy and the coverup strategies used.
The political ideology of media owners plays a role—they prefer to target the opposition but will reluctantly cover their own side. Journalists have to frame the story in terms of the audience's values and expectations to maximize the impact.
[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.]
Lists by country
![Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 102](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Schnorr_von_Carolsfeld_Bibel_in_Bildern_1860_102.png)
*
* Albania –
Political scandals of Albania
This is a list of major political controversies in Albania:
References
{{Europe topic, List of political scandals in
Albania
Scandals
A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when ac ...
* Argentina –
List of political scandals in Argentina This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government or politicians of Argentina.
Cadet scandal (1942)
In September 1942, a sex and political scandal broke out in Buenos Aires, regarding the involvement o ...
* Australia –
List of Australian political controversies
* Austria –
List of political scandals in Austria
* Belgium –
Belgian political scandals
This is a list of political scandals in Belgium from 1830 to present.Lieven De Winter, "Political corruption in Belgium." in ''Corruption in Contemporary Politics'' (Palgrave Macmillan, London, 2003). 93-105.
List of scandals
* Victor Jacobs, Vi ...
* Canada –
List of Canadian political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in Canada.
Federal
Alberta
* Alberta and Great Waterways Railway scandal — a 1910 scandal that resulted in the resignation of the premier, Alexander Cameron Rutherford
* The Liberal Government ove ...
* Chile –
Chilean political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in Chile.
1800s
* "Scorpion" scandal (1809) – a smuggling scandal that caused the fall of the Royal Governor and hastened Chilean Independence
1810s
*Killing of Manuel Rodríguez Erdoíza
1820s
*C ...
* Colombia –
Colombian parapolitics scandal
The Colombian parapolitics scandal or "parapolítica" in Spanish (a combination of the words '' paramilitar'' and '' política'') refers to the 2006–present Colombian congressional scandal in which several congressmen and other politicians hav ...
* France –
French political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in France.
Until 1958
*1789: '' Réveillon riots'' - popular revolt from April 26- 28, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris. Considered a precursor to the Storming of the Bastille and the French Revolut ...
* Germany –
German political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in Germany:
1950s
* Bavaria casino scandal (1955–1962)
1960s
* Lockheed bribery scandals (1961–1979)
* Fibag scandal (1961)
* Spiegel affair, ''Spiegel'' affair ("Spiegelaffäre", 1962)
* Operation ...
* Iceland –
Icelandic political scandals
Icelandic political scandals are political scandals which have occurred in Iceland's history and are connected to Iceland's politicians:
* (1911) Bankafarganið – Public opinion shifted to mistrust when Björn Jónsson, the Icelandic minis ...
* India –
Indian political scandals
The following is a ''list of proven scandals in India'' since independence, including political, financial and corporate scandals. The year, or decade, is when the scandal was first reported.
1940s
* 1947 - INA treasure chest disappearance
* ...
* Ireland –
Irish political scandals Republic of Ireland
Since the 1990s, many political scandals relating to miscarriage of justice, dereliction of duty and corruption by public officials have resulted in the establishment of extra-judicial Tribunals of Enquiry, which are typically ...
* Italy –
Italian political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in Italy:
* Former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi underage prostitution charges
* Lockheed bribery scandals, which caused President Giovanni Leone to resign
* Masonic lodge Propaganda Due scandal, 1 ...
* Japan –
Black Mist Scandal (Japanese politics)
* Lithuania –
Generic article on corruption in Lithuania
* New Zealand –
List of political scandals in New Zealand
The following is a list of governmental and public sector scandals in New Zealand. While New Zealand generally scores very well on international indices of corruption, there have been several notable high-profile scandals including cases of cove ...
*Malaysia –
List of scandals in Malaysia
The following is a list of reported scams and scandals in Malaysia since independence. These include political, financial, corporate and others. Entries are arranged in reverse chronological order by year. The year is the one in which the alle ...
* Philippines –
List of political scandals in the Philippines
The following are a list of political scandals in the Philippines.
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
See also
* Government of the Philippines
* Executive departments of the Philippines
* Corruption in t ...
* Poland -
List of political scandals in Poland
This is a list of major political scandals in Poland:
* 2001: corruption related to LFO scandal revealed, investigation ongoing as of 2009
* 2002: Orlengate
* 2002: Rywin affair
* 2005: Wildstein list
* 2005: allegations that USA had secret prison ...
* Slovakia –
List of Slovak political scandals
This is a list of major political scandals in Slovakia (since 1 January, 1993):
See also
* Politics of Slovakia
* Crime in Slovakia
References
{{Europe topic, List of political scandals in
Slovakia
Scandals
A scandal can be broadly def ...
* Slovenia –
1975 Zaliv Scandal
*South Korea –
Political scandals in South Korea
This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government or politicians of South Korea.
Koreagate (1976)
Koreagate is the name of a political bribery scandal revealed in 1976. It involves the Central Inte ...
* United Kingdom –
List of political scandals in the United Kingdom
This is a list of political scandals in the United Kingdom in chronological order. Scandals implicating political figures or governments of the UK, often reported in the mass media, have long had repercussions for their popularity. Issues in po ...
* United States –
List of federal political scandals in the United States
This article provides a list of political scandals that involve officials from the government of the United States, sorted from oldest to most recent.
Scope and organization of political scandals
This article is organized by presidential terms ...
* Ukraine –
List of political scandals in Ukraine
Political scandals in Ukraine are as common as anywhere in the world, while the country's top legislation body became notorious around the world for its brawls resolving any session hall stalemate with a power of fist. Probably one of the most ...
See also
*
Deviancy amplification spiral
The deviancy amplification spiral and deviancy amplification are terms used by interactionist sociologist to refer to the way levels of deviance or crime can be increased by the societal reaction to deviance itself.
Origin of term
The process of ...
*
Mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information ...
*
Moral panic
A moral panic is a widespread feeling of fear, often an irrational one, that some evil person or thing threatens the values, interests, or well-being of a community or society. It is "the process of arousing social concern over an issue", usua ...
*
Sensationalism
In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emotion ...
*
Sex scandal
Public scandals involving allegations or information about possibly immoral sexual activities are often associated with the sexual affairs of film stars, politicians, famous athletes, or others in the public eye. Sex scandals receive attention ...
![Satterfield cartoon about floods of political scandals](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/Satterfield_cartoon_about_floods_of_political_scandals.jpg)
References
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)
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Political Scandal
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