"In the End, She Does no Harm": The Rise and Fall of Cicciolina in the Legitimate Field of Politics

Carmelo Mazza
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Carmelo Mazza: Via Luigi Rizzo, Rome

Homo Oeconomicus, 1999, vol. 16, 25-44

Abstract: Scandals and normality are at opposite extremes in the continuum of social reproduction of the existing order. As normality has no clear definition, scandals benefit a huge amount from classifications, however, the dissatisfactions fail to provide an overall conceptual map. I develop a four-type classification of scandals, deconstructive, legitimating, supportive, and recycling, to describe their production, rise and fall. By reconstructing the election of Ilona Staller in the Italian Parliament in 1987, I define the life-cycle of a scandal, and the interplay between the institutional actors involved. Three findings emerge: 1) scandals may change their nature during the life-cycle, 2) involved actors need to carefully manage the unsought consequences that emerge out of the reaction of other social actors, 3) there is a reservoir of consent available for scandals and changes in the existing rules whatsoever that may be used for delegitimating norms and values.

Date: 1999
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hom:homoec:v:16:y:1999:p:25-44

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