Political corruption and scandal

The chapter takes its point of departure from the fact that corruption is by definition an illegitimate activity and therefore likely to remain hidden. If revealed, therefore, it may give rise to scandal. But corruption and scandal are related in complex ways. In order to disentangle them the chapter considers, first, a working definition of scandal as this makes it possible to identify its main characteristics and thus the conditions that have to be fulfilled in order for a scandal to be ignited. It then considers how scandals are brought into being, what their consequences are and how, through the mas media, they unfold. Its argument is that having a comprehensive understanding of the significance of corruption as a phenomenon requires an exploration of how the political scandal it may produce typically develops, as it is through scandal that corruption has some of its most significant impacts.