Partisanship, blame avoidance behaviours and voter reactions to allegations of political misconduct

Bibliographic Data

ID4170686
AuthorsNanna Lauritz Schönhage (0000-0001-7785-0829, University of Konstanz, corresponding author), Benny Geys (0000-0003-4524-1820, BI Norwegian Business School)
Year2024
Volume87
Pages102742
Publication date2024-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueElectoral Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0261-3794 • E-ISSN: 1873-6890
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.electstud.2023.102742
OpenAlexW4390599173
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited47

Politicians often engage in blame avoidance behaviours in order to evade electoral punishment following allegations of misconduct. A key question concerns the (in)effectiveness of such behaviours in mitigating voter opinions about the alleged misconduct and the appropriate punishment. In this article, we examine how this (in)effectiveness may be shaped by: (1) the characteristics of blame avoidance behaviours, and (2) voters' partisan (mis)alignment with the alleged offender. We address this question using a between-subject survey experiment among a sample of Norwegian citizens (N = 1996). Our main findings suggest that blame avoidance behaviours can be effective in mitigating voters' assessment of the alleged misconduct and of the punishment the politician should face. This is particularly true when it concerns politicians from respondents' most-preferred party, and among left-wing voters. These findings help explain when and why scandals may (fail to) affect politicians' electoral fortunes

Blame · Criminology · Misconduct · Norwegian · Political science · Politics · Punishment (psychology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Media Influence and Politics · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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