Populism and Conspiracy Theory

This book develops a precise and comprehensive theorization of the relationship between populism and conspiracy theory, which has received increased scholarly attention over the past ten years, but remains understudied. So far, scholars have mostly understood conspiracy theories as a secondary or non-necessary element of populism that occurs in many but not all populist movements. They have also argued that conspiracy theories are usually believed only by a significant minority within the populist movements. However, these theorizations do not explain why conspiracy theories are more prominent in some movements than in others and sometimes even central to them, how populist leaders cater to conspiracist and non-conspiracist followers, or how conspiracist-populist discourse is influenced by and influences “mainstream” political discourse. The question of whether conspiracy theories occur more frequently in right-wing populism, as many scholars and journalists assume, or if the left-wing variant is equally prone to conspiracy theorizing has also not yet been comprehensively addressed. This volume provides answers to these and related questions. It will therefore be of interest to researchers of populism, conspiracy theory, and left-wing and right-wing extremism.