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The upturned stone: Political scandals and their investigation processes in twenty democracies

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Abstract

This article considers the very considerable research problems facing any attempt at the logical definition, systematic classification and coding of the many varieties of political scandal. Examples of these difficulties are drawn from a new classification scheme devised by the author. This scheme is used to analyze a major new source:Political Scandals and Causes CélèbresSince 1945: An International Reference Compendium (Longmans, UK 1990). From it 146 narrative case histories from twenty democratic systems have been taken for analysis. More detailed notes on problems of processing scandal cases into such simple statistical form follow on. The cases themselves are listed in very brief coded form in the Appendix, and four tables set up the analytical scheme and its statistical product. The article concludes with a number of suggestions for future research, if academic analysis of this always-interesting, but horribly slippery, aspect of politics, government and social mores is to be pursued.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Government, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, England

    Anthony Barker

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  1. Anthony Barker
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Barker, A. The upturned stone: Political scandals and their investigation processes in twenty democracies. Crime Law Soc Change 21, 337–373 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01307799

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01307799

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