Effects of Unethical Behaviour on Public Trust

When it comes to unethical behavior in the country's administration, the first thing that comes to mind is scandals related to politicians or parties. The biggest impact of political scandals is that they create trust problems in society. The media that politicians use to get rid of scandals and the lies or denials they tell to avoid sudden negative effects cause this sense of trust to be damaged. On the other hand, scandals affect not only the individual but also the institutions to which the individual belongs, which means that the social contract between elected officials and the public is violated. This situation negatively affects the democratic regime in the long run, because people's trust in the government is built on the expectation that the candidates they elect will act in the public interest (Karp). When people's trust in institutions and their transparency is shaken, there is a decrease in their participation in civic activities or participation in elections. In addition, sometimes situations such as the spread of false information in the media or the decrease in the possibility of politicians with different views coming together and communicating with a solution focus as a result of the polarization within society that occurs over time, also affect the democratic regime quite negatively (Kelly). Although scandals cause serious polarization in society in this respect, it is said that the negative approach of partisans to the other party, which continues to increase over time, can lead to permanent high polarization over the years (Li).

In addition to distrust of politicians or the relevant institutions to which they belong, political cynicism, which is a skeptical approach to the integrity of politicians and institutions, also begins to become widespread over time (Citrin). People who believe that they have a state of political cynicism think that politicians are corrupt and that they act only in their own interests because of the advantages and comfort that their position brings them. As a result, over time, the people begin to believe that taking part in the elections is meaningless, which deals a blow to the democratic regime from another perspective (Miller).

References:

Citrin, Jack. “Comment: The Political Relevance of Trust in Government.” American Political Science Review 68.3 (1974).

Karp, Shaun Bowler and Jeffrey A. “Politicians, Scandals, and Trust In Government.” Political Behavior 26 (2004).

Kelly, Morgan. Princeton University. 9 December 2021.

Li, Daniel Diermeier and Christopher. “Dynamics of Polarization: Affective Partisanship and Policy Divergence.” Cambridge University Press (2022).

Miller, Arthur H. “Political Issues and Trust in Government.” The American Political Science Review 68.3 (1974).