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List of contents
Chapter 1: Conspiracism and Political Conflict: An introduction.- Part One: What are Political Conspiracy Theories.- Chapter 2: Political Conspiracism: A definition.- Chapter 3: In Search of a Culprit Conspiracy Theories, Hermetic Semiosis, and Scapegoating.- Chapter 4: National sovereignty as conspiracy?.- Part Two: Raising Awareness for and Debunking Fake News: Journalism and counter Strategies.- Chapter 5: Conspiracy theories and conspirationism in democratic systems: EU’s institutional strategies to respond to the new challenges.- Chapter 6: “When Are You Gonna Start Telling the Truth?” Conspiratorial Thinking and Attacks on Journalists During the Canadian “Freedom Convoy”.- Part three: Conspiracism in electoral campaign.- Chapter 7: The Politics of Climate Denial and Concern: A Cross-National Analysis in the Wake of the 2024 European Elections.- Chapter 8: Online Elite conspiracism on social media: the case of Belgium.- Part four: Far right & ‘Conspiracies’.- Chapter 9: Linking Populism and Conspiracy: A Discursive approach.- Chapter 10: Influencers of the Far-Right: Gendered Narratives in the Conspiracy Discourse of Thaïs D’Escufon and Lana Lokteff.- Chapter 11: The Culture Industry, Right-Wing Populism and Conspiratorial Discourse: a case study of Russell Brand.- Chapter 12: Far Right Climate Skepticism across Europe.- Chapter 13: Extreme Right and Ecologism in Italy.- Chapter 14: Conclusion: Key Themes and Debates in Conspiracism and Political Conflict.
About the author
Manuela Caiani is Associate Professor in Political Science at Scuola Normale Superiore, Italy, where she is part of the COSMOS (Centre on Social Movement Studies) research team.
Marco Solinas is Associate Professor in Political Philosophy at the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa, Italy.
Hans-Jörg Trenz is full Professor at Scuola Normale Superiore, Faculty of Political and Social Sciences, Italy, and Chair in Sociology of Culture and Communication.
Summary
This volume takes an innovative interdisciplinary approach to the different forms and uses of conspiracy theories in political conflict. Four main areas of research are explored: The first section presents an analysis of conspiracy theories from a political theory perspective, focusing on the logic and mechanisms of political conspiracy theories. The second section focuses on the ways in which conspiracy theories undermine the functioning of democratic systems and on strategies to counter these effects in the public debate. The third section is dedicated to empirical case studies that analyse the use of conspiracy theories in political conflict, particularly during elections and campaigns on social media. The fourth section focuses on the role of political entrepreneurs, parties and movements of the far-right as producers and promoters of conspiracy theories. This interdisciplinary approach draws on methods and perspectives from different disciplines, which are presented here along common theoretical lines. This book will be of interest to scholars and students in political sociology, comparative politics and cultural studies.
