Assignment Guidelines

Political scientists typically define corruption as the use or misuse of public office for either public or private gain. Corruption leads to a lack of trust in public officials, hurts institutions that citizens may rely upon, and damages the view of the legitimacy of the political infrastructure (separation of powers, for example). Corruption and the perception of corruption often lead to apathy and dissatisfaction among the citizens.

For the purposes of this paper, choose 1 of the following four topics below that discusses well-document case of political corruption.

Pick one of the following articles:

Walter Reed Abuse of Veterans: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/17/AR2007021701172.html

Lewinskygate: http://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/29/us/president-under-fire-right-conservative-talk-radio-finding-cause-for-revelry.html

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/clinton/stories/clinton012198.htm

Iran-Contra Affair: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/general-article/reagan-iran/

Watergate: http://www.thecrimson.com/article/1974/5/14/in-defense-of-richard-nixon-pithe/

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/watergate/articles/050173-2.htm

Address the following in 400-600 words:

• Explain the particulars of the corruption case you have chosen (place, date, a concise overview of case/example).

• How was the case of corruption revealed, and what were the consequences and the outcome of the case?

• Discuss the effects of the case and suggest accountability measures, such as checks and balances and the role of media. Use 2 substantive sources to support your analysis in addition to the article provided.

• Does this case have long lasting implications on the future of American Politics? What foreseeable issues do you think might arise from your understanding of the topic? Are you seeing any of those issues today?