Denunciation Dynamics and the Limits of Scandal

Title:  Denunciation Dynamics and the Limits of Scandal

Speaker: Dr. Thomas Grund. School of Sociology, UCD.

Date: Thursday, 31st March 2016

Time: 4pm

Location: Room E0.01, Science Centre East

Abstract:

Scandals around deviant affairs, such as corruption of economic or political elites, stipulate the revelation of truth. In this study, we argue that public inquiries into scandals remain limited in their production of knowledge because of the endogenous network dynamics of the underlying denunciation process. This article turns to the events of a Canadian Royal Commission, referred to as the Gomery Commission, which unfolded throughout 2004-2005 and inquired into the inner workings of a corruption scandal within the federal government of Canada. Analyses are based on original data of relational denunciation events that emerged from the public testimonies of 172 witnesses. Multilevel discrete-time event history analyses are applied to demonstrate the temporal and relational embeddedment of denunciation. Witnesses in the commission process tend to reciprocate denunciations, denounce others who have already been previously denounced, and punish those who talk too much. Overall, the denunciation dynamics are more consistent with the maintenance of secrecy than with the production of knowledge, which exposes the limits of scandals and stands in stark contrast with the disclosure of truth.

 

Series: Statistics