Conspiracy Thinking and Theories, their Causes and Consequence: Shifting the Focus on To the Political Dimension

Abstract

The COVID pandemic, Donald Trump's presidency, and the debate over climate science are just three recent developments that have been linked to an increase in conspiracy thinking and the proliferation of conspiracy theories. In this way, both the demand and supply sides of conspiracy theories have received much greater attention in social science research. While an extensive literature has already emerged in psychology and communication science, there are still significant gaps in the understanding of this phenomenon from a political science and political sociological perspective. Thus, this panel aims to address this dearth by casting the focus on conspiracy theories and conspiracy thinking as primarily a political phenomenon and solicits submissions that examine the political causes of conspiracy thinking by for example linking citizens' preferences for conspiracy theories to political attitudes (including populism) and perceptions. Likewise, contributions that address the political consequences of conspiracy theories, such as in the context of elections, the impact on democratic practices, or on the democratic discourse, are encouraged. Moreover, explanations for variations in political conspiracy thinking across different settings is clearly needed. Given the relevance of this research agenda, it is essential to increasingly analyze it from a political science perspective as well.

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