In politics, hubris often leads to ruin. Sex, money and power can make even the best politicians stray from the straight and narrow path. Some misdeeds are purely personal, like a politician’s extramarital affair, while others are alleged to involve abuse of power or corruption in high places. The latter can shake the foundations of democracy, leading citizens to feel that political systems are rigged against them and that government is not responsive to their needs.
Scandals are highly nuanced and individualized, but research from different fields suggests some general lessons. First, misbehavior becomes a scandal only when it is exposed. Thus, politicians must be willing to disclose information about their actions. This can be difficult if their aligned party wants to shelter them from harm, or if the opposing party attempts to derail them by suppressing the truth or throwing baseless accusations (Brown & Gitlin, 2004).
Another lesson is that scandals can erode citizens’ satisfaction with democracy and trust in political processes. Citizens may choose not to vote, or they may report feeling dissatisfied with democracy and less trusting of political institutions after experiencing a scandal (Bowler & Karp, 2004). This may also lead them to become more critical of the political system. Scandal effects are complex and interrelated, and scholars in the field of political science, psychology, and communication studies should work together to improve our understanding. This includes studying how political scandals are mediated by news media in different countries with different political and communication systems.