Sex Scandals in American Politics: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Construction and Aftermath of Contemporary Political Sex Scandals

Examines significant recent political sex scandals in the US using a multidisciplinary approach.

Alison Dagnes is AssociateProfessor of Political Science at Shippensburg University, USA. After being a producer at C-SPAN in Washington, she moved to academia and now teaches courseson American government and politics. Her research interests focus on Americanpolitical behavior and ideology in modern American politics. She is the authorof Politics on Demand: The Effects of 24-Hour News on American Politics(Praeger, 2010)

1. IntroductionAlison Dagnes2. Game Changer: The Clinton Scandal and American Sexuality Cynthia Drenovsky3. The Psychology of Risky Sexual Behavior: Why Politicians Expose ThemselvesJames D. Griffith4. A Framework for Understanding: Sex Scandals in ComparisonMark Sachleben5. The Politics, Geography and Constituencies of Political Sex Scandals Alison Dagnes and Janet Smith6. Men, Mistresses, and Media Framing: Examining Political Sex ScandalsCarrie Sipes7. Love Means Sometimes Having to Say You're SorryRichard Knight8. It May Be Wrong, But it's Not a Crime: The negligible legal consequences for the amoral sexual activity of men in public officeStephanie Jirard9. Hedging the Bet: Constitutional Qualifications for National Public OfficeCynthia BotteronIndex

"Rarely do sex scandals receive careful attention and consideration from academics.  Rarer still does a volume as comprehensive as this come along.  The authors provide a systematic, exhaustive, and multi-disciplinary approach in an area begging for empirical analysis.  Aside from tackling the obvious questions of why politicians engage in such risky behavior, this book forces us to ask deeper questions about the electorate and their fickle relationship with elected officials." - David Wiltse, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Briar Cliff University.
"This timely book addresses political sex scandals from a multi-disciplinary perspective. Unique from so-called "exposes," the authors approach the salaciousness of American politics from the viewpoints of constitutional law, communication, geogaphy, history, media, political science, and psychology. Well researched and articulately written, each essay engages the reader as scholar and populist. Highly informative, this volume is an essential read for those intrigued by power and the sexual license it seemingly grants politicians."- Keith V. Erickson, University of Southern Mississippi
As this edited volume so aptly demonstrates, there is no single or simple reason why men who have been elected to political office engage in risky sexual behaviors that may bring them down from the pinnacle of power.  Just as complex is the hair-trigger response of the American public and media, even to behaviors that while they may be amoral, are not illegal. Dagnes and contributors offer multiple analytic lenses to help readers understand both the dynamics that drive individual behavior, as well as the social and political context in which these behaviors and responses occur - American society in the 21st century - one that is so profoundly ambivalent about sex, and the role of sex in our lives. -- Betsy Crane, Ph.D., Professor, Director, Graduate Programs in Human Sexuality, Widener University.
Pre-pub feature in the Shippensburg, PA Record Herald