Norms, Corruption, and Voting for Berlusconi

Abstract

Why do people vote for corrupt politicians? Taking Silvio Berlusconi as an example of a politician who continually succeeded in attaining public office despite corruption accusations, corruption charges, and corruption convictions, I explore several hypotheses to understand voter support for Berlusconi. I show that social norms that justify corruption in one's peer group extend to voting and increase the likelihood of supporting Berlusconi at all points on the ideological spectrum. This work builds on previous work in psychology and sociology and brings into question assumptions that voters fail to sanction corrupt politicians because of a lack of information. By focusing on individual-level political behavior, this article shows that increased information on corruption by the media and others may not have the intended effect: perceiving corruption as common may increase tolerance for corruption, rather than encouraging voters to punish corruption. Related Articles Pasquino, Gianfranco. 2014. “Italy: The Triumph of Personalist Parties.” Politics & Policy 42 (4): 548-566. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/polp.12079/abstract Lagunes, Paul F. 2012. “Corruption's Challenge to Democracy: A Review of the Issues.” Politics & Policy 40 (5): 802-826. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2012.00384.x/abstract Caillier, James. 2010. “Citizen Trust, Political Corruption, and Voting Behavior: Connecting the Dots.” Politics & Policy 38 (5): 1015-1035. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1747-1346.2010.00267.x/abstract Related Media The Quality of Government Institute. http://www.qog.pol.gu.se/ The Comparative Study of Electoral Systems. http://www.cses.org/ Talk by Jeremy Weinstein on a project examining political accountability around corruption and performance in Uganda. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6w3_w360rw