Conspiracy theories: the roots, themes and propagation of paranoid political and cultural narratives

“We live in an age of conspiracy” says Don DeLillo (1989). In 2014 it seems that conspiracy theories, and speculation concerning the “truth” about major events, has become a popular theme and pastime in contemporary society. From sold out eleven hour David Icke presentations at Wembley Stadium in the UK (as well as his world tours), to the ever expanding radio and television network of Alex Jones in the United States, it is clear that there is more than just a fringe interest in conspiracy theories. In the academic literature dating back to Richard Hofstadter (1964) though, the phenomenon has been cast as a purely pathological or paranoid behaviour. Recent works, such as that of Sunstien and Vermeule (2009), Aaronovitch (2011) and van der Linden (2013) go further in suggesting that engagement with conspiracy theories is not only a pathological behaviour, but a danger both to modern society and one which threatens to bring an end to the “age of reason.” Others however, such as Jane and Fleming (2014) have suggested that conspiracy theories are actually a direct result of Enlightenment thinking, and that they offer a valuable counterweight to modern forms of propaganda. In this thesis I seek to challenge the view that conspiracy theories are a pathological behaviour, and offer instead that in contemporary engagement with conspiracy theories is a form of political resistance that allows the excluded and disaffected a political voice. I also offer that conspiracy theories are best understood as social, cultural and political narratives that are in the words of Michael Barkun (2003) a form of stigmatized knowledge. From this perspective it is possible, I argue, to contextualise conspiracy theories in terms of contemporary political and social issues. Finally, I suggest that conspiracy theories may be a method that is used by those who engage to negotiate social ambivalence as outlined by Bauman (1991). To do this, I interviewed eight Melbournians who were either engaged with conspiracy theories or considered themselves “sceptics.” Each of the participants, shared stories of their everyday experiences with conspiracy theories with me. I have analysed their responses using a thematic narrative analysis and underpinning my research were four research questions: [1] How do people living and working in Melbourne define and use conspiracy theories in their everyday lives?; [2] In my data, are conspiracy theories being discussed (and used) as a form of political action for the alienated and marginalized? [3] Does my data collected conform to the two broad understandings that I have outlined in the literature review (the cultural and psychological approaches)? [4] Following question 3, do my participants engage with conspiracy theories as social, cultural and political narratives that offer a new or alternative means of political resistance?

Book Review| August 01 2017 Review: Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Political and Cultural Narratives by Aaron John Gulyas Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Political and Cultural Narratives. By Aaron John Gulyas. McFarland, 2016. 240 pages. $35.00 paperback; ebook available. Joseph Laycock Joseph Laycock Texas State University Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Nova Religio (2017) 21 (1): 116–117. https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2017.21.1.116 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Peer Review Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Cite Icon Cite Search Site Citation Joseph Laycock; Review: Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Political and Cultural Narratives by Aaron John Gulyas. Nova Religio 1 August 2017; 21 (1): 116–117. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2017.21.1.116 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentNova Religio Search This content is only available via PDF. © 2017 by The Regents of the University of California2017 Article PDF first page preview Close Modal You do not currently have access to this content.

Book Review: Aaron John Gulyas <i>Conspiracy Theories: The Roots, Themes and Propagation of Paranoid Political and Cultural Narratives</i>

This study explores the intersection between religion and science through the lens of conspiracy theory, specifically by examining the thoughts of Karl Popper and Ibn Rushd. Employing a qualitative method through literature review and philosophical-historical analysis, the research delves into the epistemological frameworks of both thinkers. The findings reveal that Karl Popper criticizes conspiracy theories as pseudoscience lacking falsifiability, while Ibn Rushd promotes the reconciliation of reason and revelation as a path to harmonize science and religion. This article identifies that external factors—such as political interests, cultural narratives, and media influence—often catalyze the conflict rather than inherent contradictions between religion and science. The novelty of this research lies in its interdisciplinary approach combining Western and Islamic philosophical perspectives to address contemporary sociocultural challenges. The study suggests that rational education and philosophical dialogue should be prioritized in shaping policies that aim to reduce societal polarization and promote constructive engagement between religious and scientific communities.

As the media landscape evolves, the study of news framing, key to shaping public opinion, has expanded. Our study presents a methodology for framing analysis in Spanish media using NLP to uncover the cultural and political factors shaping narratives. This method enhances linguistic inclusivity in framing studies and highlights Spanish media’s role in public opinion, showing NLP’s utility in diverse linguistic contexts and contributing to a more comprehensive global media analysis.

Reviewed by: Ukrainian, Russophone, (Other) Russian: Hybrid Identities and Narratives in Post-Soviet Culture and Politics by Marco Puleri Anna Vozna (bio) Marco Puleri, Ukrainian, Russophone, (Other) Russian: Hybrid Identities and Narratives in Post-Soviet Culture and Politics ( Berlin: Peter Lang, 2020). 294 pp. Bibliography. Index. ISBN: 978-3-631-81662-2. People in Ukraine keep speaking and creating in Russian. But no one seems to know what to do about it. What should the status of their language be in Ukraine? How should the cultural artifacts they produce be treated? It is challenging to answer these questions because to find the solutions, one first needs to understand who the Russian speakers in Ukraine are exactly, what culture they are more a part of, Ukrainian or Russian, and whether speaking and creating in Russian makes them closer to the ideology of the country Ukraine is now at war with. So far, there is no consensus on this matter. A possible explanation for this absence could be one offered by Ilya Gerasimov: that the positionality of Russian speakers in Ukraine is so peculiar that the available ontological and epistemological tools cannot serve to describe it since the Ukrainian revolution and its aftermath involve an unprecedented historical process in the making in which conventional [End Page 336] categories and models are becoming obsolete (P. 39).1 To be sure, some propositions for redefining the status of Russian in Ukraine have been made. The Ukrainian politician Boris Filatov, the American historian Timothy Snyder, and the Ukrainian writer Andrei Kurkov have, at different times, suggested reappropriating Russian as a Ukrainian cultural good and institutionalizing it so that Ukraine develops its own center of Russian that would be independent from the Russian Federation. However, while such propositions have been made, they do not seem to be supported by substantial theoretical grounds that would clearly explain what Russophone culture in Ukraine is and why one would want to support it. Marco Puleri's new book offers precisely this theoretical substantiation and attempts to define the scope of Russophone culture in Ukraine through the lens of hybridity. The author proposes viewing Ukrainian Russophone culture as both Ukrainian and Russian and explains how and why it can be accepted as a valuable element of the Ukrainian cultural scene. He achieves this by first analyzing the works of Russophone Ukrainian writers and then extending his analysis of literary works to the broader cultural processes in Ukraine. His work demonstrates how these writers function within the literary markets of the two countries, how they reappropriate literary works from both literary traditions, and how they permeate their works with the peculiar local language, which, uttered using Russian words but relying on syntax emerging from the Ukrainian political realities, is both Ukrainian and Russian. Chapter 1 of Puleri's book provides a brief historical overview of how the current positionality of Russophone Ukrainian writers has emerged and outlines what is so problematic about it from the postcolonial perspective. Analyzing examples of Gogol and Shevchenko, Puleri shows that hybridity has a long history in Ukraine and is an inalienable feature of Russophone Ukrainian literature. He also argues that the drawing of ethnolinguistic borders in Ukraine is a part of the political and cultural clash between Ukraine and Russia. Chapter 2 develops this analysis from the vantage point of literary markets. Here the author reconstructs the most common language ideologies and the ways Russian is perceived in Ukraine. He also traces the impact of the literary markets of Ukraine and Russia on how these perceptions emerged. Russophone Ukrainian authors, Puleri suggests, have long been perceived as Russian [End Page 337] because they have published their works in Russian publishing houses, received Russian literary awards, and distributed their works in Russia. Now that they choose not to engage with these markets, the author speculates, Ukrainian readers' perspectives on them might change and so might their perspectives on what can be counted as Ukrainian literature. In chapter 3, Puleri offers a new perspective on Russophone Ukrainian works by analyzing them through the lens of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's concept of minor literature. This allows him to view the Russophone literature of writers working in...

Conspiracy theories were once perceived as delusions of individuals on the fringes of society, but have become commonplace in mainstream culture. Today, they are produced, consumed, and circulated on various online media environments. From memes on 4chan, QAnon influencers on Instagram, to flat earth or antivaxx videos on YouTube, modern-day conspiracy culture embodies compelling mediated images and narratives that are composed of various audiovisual materials. Building on Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model, and Henry Jenkins’ notion of “participatory culture,” we analyze these audiovisual conspiracy theories as “oppositional readings” of hegemonic truths. More concretely, we analyze how conspiracy theorists reconstruct various audiovisual (mass-media) materials into streamlined narratives on YouTube videos to picture opaque power. Based on an in-depth qualitative analysis of 24 conspiracy theory videos, strategically selected from a larger sample of 200, we present three major categories of audiovisual narrative construction in conspiracy videos on YouTube: (1) Simulating: using fiction, religious and cultural images and narratives to render images of events otherwise invisible; (2) Deciphering: decoding hidden messages by “closely reading” images and looking for hidden symbolism; (3) Exhibiting: exposing information, research, and images that are “hidden in plain sight” but point to conspiracy. This article contributes to the growing body of literature on conspiracy theories by showing how they are not just texts, but should better be seen as media practices involving the recontextualizing of (mass)media material into new audiovisual conspiracy theory narratives. This shapes not just their content and form, but also their place in public discourse.

This article shows how Poland’s ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), is attempting to apply its general strategy of “elite replacement” in a modified way to civil society. Since independent civil society organizations are not subject to arbitrary state control of appointments (unlike public institutions), this strategy has required a more complex dual approach of pressure and promotion. Organizations perceived as hostile to the party and its values have been subject to the withdrawal of state support and smear campaigns. By contrast, organizations that are politically or ideologically linked to the party have found support in the form of new public funds and other institutional assistance. This article examines the practical functioning and consequences of these processes through two main examples: (1) a state-sponsored campaign against one of Poland’s largest independent charity organizations, the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity and (2) the funding of multiple right-wing NGOs friendly to PiS by the newly established National Freedom Institute. The article shows how PiS’s dual strategy in civil society reinforces its political narratives through support of the broader right-wing cultural narratives that underpin them. At the same time, it demonstrates how funding of friendly organizations directly strengthens party structures by fostering the development of new political and administrative cadres. By analysing PiS’s specific methods of pressure and promotion in the sphere of civil society, the article shows the intertwining of political and cultural narratives and goals within a right-wing populist framework.

ABSTRACTThis paper offers a reading of Meena Alexander’s Nampally Road (NR) (1991) in the light of Homi K. Bhabha’s theorisation of the relation between nation and narration. For Bhabha, the nation is narrated through narratives which are unstable and inconsistent. These narratives, based on the past or established regularly in the present, are relentlessly refashioned. Negotiating the questions of personal and national identity, Meena Alexander’s novel delineates a post-independence Indian society, dominated by an ‘imagined’ political narrative. Throughout the novel, the protagonist’s observations of the nation and its cultural bases lead her to a redefinition of her national self. Furthermore, the novel exorcises Indian history from the shadows of colonial narratives and reconstructs an alternative postcolonial account. The marginalised female voices, resisting victimisation through their search for self-reconciliation in the interstices of memory and culture, empower a new discourse of the nation in the hybrid realm of culture. NR, it is argued, offers an image of national consciousness as achieved by undermining the hegemony of the past and the tyranny of the present. It tries to give voice to the subaltern by imaginatively and socially engaging them in the national, political, cultural and social narratives of their nation.

This paper interrogates the epistemic and spatial dimensions of conspiracy theories through the lens of knowledge geographies, foregrounding the socio-spatial infrastructures that condition the emergence, circulation, and legitimization of conspiracism. In response to Ridgway's provocation concerning geographers’ aversion to conspiracy discourses, I critique the normative deployment of ‘conspiracy theory’ as a pathologizing category that obscures the political and affective labour such narratives perform. The paper distinguishes conspiracist epistemologies from reflexive critique, while simultaneously acknowledging the complex affective investments that render conspiracy theories intelligible within marginalized or disenchanted communities. Further, it proposes the notion of an ‘impossible’ alliance, wherein leftist movements might strategically engage with conspiracist publics – not by validating epistemically closed worldviews, but by reorienting their latent anti-elite sentiments toward emancipatory political projects. By mapping the geographies of conspiracism and analysing the scalar, affective, and ideological registers through which these discourses operate, this paper articulates a call for geographers to reconceptualize conspiracism not as epistemic deviance, but as situated critique. In doing so, it opens space for a transgressive political imaginary that reclaims disaffection as a site of contestation and possibility.

The aim of this paper is to conduct a literature review of the existing nexus between conspiracy theories and populist politics. Most of the literature considering the political nature of conspiracy theories has focused mainly on individual action and electoral choices, hence setting aside the agency of political leaders that deliberately resort to these tales to mobilise supporters. On the contrary, conspiracy theories are increasingly moving away from extremist politics to enter the institutional political arena and become part and parcel of the political narratives and strategies of institutional figures. Against this backdrop, the present work offers a new approach to investigate the connection between populist conspiracy theories and conspiracist populism and attempts to explain how conspiracist populism works and what its potential impact on contemporary democracies is. The analysis of the literature offers some theoretical insights to explore the specific case of the presidency of Kais Saied in Tunisia, which has been labelled as a form of constitutional populism integrating conspiracy theories. The inquiry on the Tunisian case demonstrates that conspiracy theories can represent both tactics and framings for populists in power, and, if democratic checks and balances are weak enough, they can lead to the erosion of democracy itself.

CONFLICTING NARRATIVES: WAR, TRAUMA, AND MEMORY IN IRAQI CULTURE edited by Stephan Milich, Friederike Pannewick, and Leslie Tramontini Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2012 (x v iii + 268 pages) $99.00 (clot h)Looking at from our current vantage point it is easy to forget the rich cultural history contained within the borders of a country that has been plagued by warfare for over thirty years, with each catastrophic event seemingly overshadowing the previous one. has had no shortage of writers and intellectuals. In the latter half of the twentieth century some of the Arab world's most important poets emerged from the country; names like Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Nazik al-Mala'ika, and 'Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati- among many others-need no introduction for anyone with the slightest familiarity with modern Arabic poetry. Their stories are well known, and their contribution to the shape of modern Arabic literature is undeniable. Yet far less has been written, particularly in English, about the writers and cultural figures from the final quarter of the last century until the present day. What happened to Iraqi cultural production during the terrifying years of Ba'thist rule, under the sanctions of the 1990s, or following the 2003 US invasion and occupation? What has been the role of the Iraqi intellectual since then, and how has Iraqi culture responded to the memories and traumas of recent, violent pasts? Moreover, who, for that matter, can speak in the name of at a time when the country is more fragmented than ever before and an increasing number of writers live abroad?In response to these questions, in December 2008 a conference entitled Cultural Voices of a Fragmented Nation: War, Trauma and Remembrance in Contemporary Iraq took place at the Phillips-Universitat in Marburg, Germany. Much of Conflicting Narratives: War, Trauma, and Memory in Iraqi Culture grew from this conference. edited volume consists of four sections: Cultural and Political Narratives; Poetics of Trauma; The Dialectics of Home and Exile; and Shahadat: Essays on the Poetic Semantics of the 'Iraqi Place.' final section contains five additional essays translated from the 2009 collection of articles edited by Basran novelist and short story writer Lu'ay Hamza 'Abbas entitled al-Makan al-'Iraqi: Jadal al-Kitaba wa-lTajriba (The Iraqi place: Debating writing and experience). While the goals of the book are ambitious, it does an admirable job of introducing readers to contemporary debates about Iraqi literary production.The book's essays reflect important recent trends in scholarship on Iraqi culture, originating in scholarly works written primarily in Arabic by Iraqi intellectuals who critically treat Iraqi cultural production, especially literature, inside and outside the country from approximately 1979 until the present day. most notable of these studies are Salam 'Abbud's Thaqafat al-'Unf fi al-'Iraq (The culture of violence in Iraq) and 'Abbas Khidr's alKhakiyya: Min Awraq al-Jarima al-Thaqafiyya fial-'Iraq (Khaki: Documents of cultural crime in Iraq), both published in Cologne by al-Jamal in 2002 and 2005, respectively, and both of which are cited frequently throughout the book. They are scathing critiques of cultural production under the Iraqi Ba'th Party, and if at points they seem overly caustic in their criticism (an arguably justifiable excess, given the level of fear that existed during Ba'thist rule), they are nevertheless essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary Iraqi literature and cultural history. At the same time, much of the literary scholarship in Conflicting Narratives reflects more recent Englishlanguage studies of Iraqi fiction and poetry written by a younger generation of writers including Muhsin al-Ramli, Hassan Blasim, Sinan Antoon, and Inaam Kachachi. Much of this material deals with the consequences of the US-led invasion and subsequent wars and unrest since 2003.The first section of Conflicting entitled Cultural and Political Narratives, consists of three articles individually written by cultural critic Fatima Mohsen, literary scholar Leslie Tramontini, and historian Hala Fattah. …

Who Believes in Conspiracy Theories in Venezuela?

Conspiracy theories are central to political discourse in Venezuela and are widely supported. In the Americas Barometer Venezuela survey from 2016 to 2017, 54 percent of respondents expressed agreement for at least one of three political conspiracy narratives unsupported by evidence. Political loyalties to Chavismo or to the anti-Chavista opposition drive much conspiracy theory belief, but not all. Politically motivated reasoning pushes some citizens toward a given conspiracy narrative but others away. Other factors that are distinct from political loyalties, including low education levels, predispositions toward Manichaeanism and fatalism, and belief in the supernatural are associated with conspiracism. This article presents new data on conspiracy theory beliefs in Venezuela as well as analysis of its individual-level correlates, then discusses how the current Venezuelan political environment fosters conspiracy and what changes might mitigate this phenomenon.

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