ABSTRACT
To many, the word politics is viewed with disdain, conjuring up visions of shady behavior that is manipulative, divisive, and exclusively self-serving. In just one of countless examples, Mencken noted that “a good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar.” Vocational and public policy researchers corroborate society’s increasingly negative opinions by documenting politicians’ status as one of the least trusted occupations (Bottery, 2003; Grint, 2005; Hay, 2007). Noting their treacherous status, Qvortrup (2009) argued that “alongside car salesmen and lobbyists, politicians are probably the least trusted profession” (p. 63). Finally, Stoker (2010) advocated for research in social politics despite the fact that it represents “a subject matter that many of our fellow citizens assert to despise” (p. 43).
