Political scandals expose misdeeds by politicians and government institutions that violate laws or ethical standards. They shake public trust and lead to many different political consequences, such as leaders resigning, parties losing elections, or new laws being created. These controversies are essential to healthy democracy, but they’re often hard to detect. They hide behind layers of bureaucracy, and most of the time, only someone with inside knowledge has a chance to expose them. This is why whistleblowers and investigative reporting are crucial to democracy. Without their work, a scandal might never become public.
Corruption is a serious problem because it warps politics and hurts society as a whole. It leads to the squandering of taxpayer dollars, skews policy, and reduces the quality of government services. It can also foster public cynicism and distrust of the system, which can depress turnout at elections and lead nonvoters to believe their government doesn’t represent them. This is what happened in the United States during the Gilded Age, when corruption fueled robber barons and industrial conglomerates, while workers struggled with long hours, dangerous jobs, and meager wages with no legal protections.
But what causes these controversies to take place in the first place? How do they have such a strong impact on public opinion and the political environment? And what can we learn from the past to reduce future misconduct? These questions lie at the heart of new research from UChicago’s Wioletta Dziuda and William G. Howell.
