Assessing the Impact of Communications Strategy and Ethical Positioningon the Resilience of a Political Career Facing Scandal: Critical Analysis of Sexual Scandals within American Politics

Authors

  • Marta Fisiak University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.22.11

Keywords:

scandal, sex, politics, media, power

Abstract

Throughout the evolution of public political discourse we have repeatedly seen the effects of scandals on the careers of many politicians. Although the cultural and societal norms that have traditionally dictated the results of such scandals have changed dramatically within the last two centuries, I believe that the aftermath of these scandals may be better understood by analyzing and comparing the politician’s previously established public image to the scandal at hand. I will argue that a negative impact only oc­curs if and when there is a clear contradiction of character that presents the politician as a deceitful or hypocritical person in the media sphere and therefore the eyes of the public.

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Author Biography

Marta Fisiak, University of Lodz, Faculty of Economics and Sociology

Marta Fisiak is a Ph.D. student at the Faculty of Economics and Sociology at the University of Lodz. She holds Master’s degrees in Political Science from the University of Lodz. Her research interests include political scandals in the United States. Her most recent publication is Sexual scandal the struggle for symbolic power (Skandal polityczny o podłożu seksualnym – czyli walka o władzę symboliczną, Wydawnictwo Naukowe INTELLECT, Waleńczów 2018).

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Published

2018-11-09

How to Cite

Fisiak, M. (2018). Assessing the Impact of Communications Strategy and Ethical Positioningon the Resilience of a Political Career Facing Scandal: Critical Analysis of Sexual Scandals within American Politics. International Studies. Interdisciplinary Political and Cultural Journal, 22(1), 169–182. https://doi.org/10.18778/1641-4233.22.11