Professional politicians as the subjects of moral panic

Journal article


Jones, Kate. (2008). Professional politicians as the subjects of moral panic. Australian Journal of Political Science. 43(2), pp. 243 - 258. https://doi.org/10.1080/10361140802035762
AuthorsJones, Kate
Abstract

The media, the public and politicians themselves often express a fear that Australian political life is increasingly dominated by ‘professional politicians’, who are seen as careerist, lacking in commitment and disconnected from the reality of ordinary lives. The article analyses the meanings given to the term ‘professional politicians’ and their relationship to other definitions and characteristics of professionalism. It also uses the concept of moral panic to analyse the concerns expressed about ‘professional politicians’. This concept, first formulated in 1972 in Cohen's study of alleged youth violence in a small town in the United Kingdom, is most often associated with studies of social deviance. This article demonstrates how, in a later period, it can be extended to apply to politicians, a group traditionally more often identified as a perpetrator of moral panics than the subject of them.

Year2008
JournalAustralian Journal of Political Science
Journal citation43 (2), pp. 243 - 258
PublisherRoutledge
ISSN1036-1146
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1080/10361140802035762
Scopus EID2-s2.0-45849151722
Page range243 - 258
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Place of publicationAustralia
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