ABSTRACT
This chapter describes theorise the ‘function’ of scandals and critique the popularly held view that they are merely negative features of politics, particularly when their frequency is high. Some of Emile Durkheim’s early work examines how scandals strengthen the community’s collective conscience by punishing deviants to reinforce social cohesion. Thus social stability is not undermined as scandals are just temporary disruptions that ultimately reinforce the rules for the delegation of political power. The conception of scandals as a social pathology has provoked much debate in the literature. The transgressor may even survive the scandal without receiving substantive punishment, or the punishment may take time to be enacted. Max Gluckman theorises that scandals unite groups within a larger society as cliques struggle against each other for status and prestige. That is, while cliques use gossip and scandals against each other, they are also used to define the broader social values.
