Growing as Suspicious Citizens: Conspiracy Theories, Political Culture, and Political Socialization

As new democratic challenges arise, the study of political culture has evolved from the initial focus on its role in enhancing civic capacity and democracy, characteristic of Almond and Verba's classic account, to an examination of its "dark" dimensions, such as populism, distrust, and dissatisfaction with democracy. However, this shift has led only to a limited degree to an increased interest in conspiracy theories as a significant aspect of political culture. The interdisciplinary research on conspiracy beliefs has a long history, dating back to the work of Karl Popper (1945) and Richard Hofstadter (1964), but it began to develop dynamically only in the 21st century, after new insights were offered by Mark Fenster (1999) and Peter Knight (2000). It is striking that this growing body of research contributed so little to studies on "critical citizens" (Norris 1999), "dissatisfied democrats" (Klingemann 1999), and other aspects of late-modern political culture. The objective of my presentation is to fill the gap and explore the links between the concept of conspiracy theory and political culture. I will first outline key academic developments and debates related to conspiracy theory. Next, I plan to argue that the concept can be effectively applied within both the Almond & Verba tradition and the more historical qualitative approach popularized by Hofstadter (Kazin 1999). Utilizing empirical studies, including my own, I will examine how conspiracy thinking intersects with core elements of political culture, particularly orientations toward democracy and patterns of political participation. Next, I plan to focus on the root causes of conspiracy beliefs and link them to political culture. Unlike dominant accounts that emphasize the role of psychological traits (such as personality or the need for cognitive closure; Douglas, Uscinski, Sutton et al.) or situational context (reaction to wars, economic crises, or out-of-power status; Popper 1945; Uscinski & Parent 2014), I suggest that political socialization is a key factor shaping both conspiracy thinking and political culture in general. In doing so, I hope not only to contribute to understanding conspiracy theory as an element of political culture but also to place those connected ideas within a broader theoretical framework that highlights the linkage.