Conspiracy Everywhere
| Published date | 01 May 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/14789299231212165 |
| Author | Russell Muirhead,Nancy Rosenblum |
| Date | 01 May 2024 |
https://doi.org/10.1177/14789299231212165
Political Studies Review
2024, Vol. 22(2) 260 –271
© The Author(s) 2023
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/14789299231212165
journals.sagepub.com/home/psrev
Conspiracy Everywhere
Russell Muirhead1 and Nancy Rosenblum2
Abstract
Conspiracy seems to be everywhere, and not only in the United States, where the “rigged
election” conspiracy led a US president to reverse the results of a national election. We consider
what is distinctive about contemporary conspiracism and argue that the prevalence of fact-
free conspiratorial narratives marks a shift from what Hofstadter called the “pedantic” style
of conspiracy theory. We show how conspiracism today threatens democratic institutions and
sketch how the articles in this volume (on conspiracism) advance our understanding of conspiracy
and democracy.
Keywords
conspiracy theory, misinformation, democratic erosion
Accepted: 11 October 2023
Considering the way the “rigged election” conspiracy theory led to an effort by a US
president to reverse the 2020 election results—and led supporters to invade the US
Capitol as the election results were being certified on 6 January 2021, perhaps few would
deny that conspiracism poses a threat to democratic institutions. But it remains tempting
in the United States to identify conspiracism’s assault on democratic institutions with the
single figure of Donald Trump. It might seem that the waves of conspiratorial charges
crashing over public institutions—Pizzagate and Birtherism, Deep State, and Rigged
elections—will irreversibly recede when the tide of Donald Trump recedes. Trump has a
conspiratorial mind-set few other political leaders can equal, and he has an ability to
impose his reality on the nation—as well as to mobilize a reactionary counter-cultural
movement—that no other US leader can approach. Yet, there is good reason to believe
that conspiracism will remain a challenge to democratic institutions, and not only in the
United States, after Trump (Pirro and Taggart, 2023; Walter and Drochon, 2022).
1Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
2Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Corresponding author:
Russell Muirhead, Dartmouth College, Hanover, 03755 NH, USA.
Email: russell.muirhead@dartmouth.edu
1212165PSW0010.1177/14789299231212165Political Studies Review X(X)Muirhead and Rosenblum
research-article2023
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