Grievances, Conspiracy Theories and Social Exclusion in Northern Europe

This paper looks at how conspiracy theories interact with experiences of social exclusion, narratives of conspiracy are developed in response to insecurity within society, and the role they play in creating individual resilience. Research into conspiracy theories have tended to analyse conspiracy either in terms of the role it plays in extremist groups or networks, or the potential threat it poses to society, community cohesion and trust in politics. This paper looks at how conspiracy theories – even those that are linked to extremism – can operate as a form of psychological resilience-building, providing the means to manage and respond to patterns of social exclusion. Through [XX] interviews conducted with individuals linked to conspiracy narratives in the Netherlands, the UK, Denmark and Norway, conducted as part of the EU Commission-funded DRIVE project, the findings suggest that conspiracy theories operate in response to a range of societal concerns and experiences – including housing and job insecurity, discrimination and political inequality. In doing so, they evidence conspiracy as often acting as a means by which individuals can manage experiences of social exclusion, across various national contexts. These findings have a range of implications, nuancing our understanding of the relationship between conspiracy theories in extremism, analysing the role that social exclusion plays in the spread of conspiracy theories, as well as offering opportunities for reassessing how to build psychological and community forms of resilience in response to extremism.