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Bridging the great divide: Conspiracy theory research for the 21st century

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2024

Michael Butter  and
Peter Knight
Michael Butter*
Affiliation:
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Germany
Peter Knight*
Affiliation:
University of Manchester, UK
*
Michael Butter, English Department, American Studies Program, Wilhelmstr. 50, 72074 Tübingen, Germany. Email: michael.butter@uni-tuebingen.de
Peter Knight, Samuel Alexander Building-N1.14, School of Arts, Languages and Cultures, The University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK. Email: peter.knight@manchester.ac.uk
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Abstract

This article starts from the observation that research on conspiracy theories is currently thriving, but that it is also fragmented. In particular there is an increasing divide between disciplines with culturalist and qualitative approaches, such as history, cultural studies and ethnology, and disciplines with quantitative and empirical approaches, such as psychology and political science. The article argues that this ‘great divide’ has to be bridged for research to arrive at a genuine understanding of conspiracy theories. As a first step in such a bridge-building process, the article engages, from the vantage point of (American) cultural studies, with research done on the other side of the divide, namely in psychology and political science. It summarizes the work done in these fields and evaluates it critically, concentrating on methodology; the assumptions about the dysfunctionality of conspiracy beliefs; the circularity of some arguments; the focus on individual rather than social and collective aspects; the lack of engagement with the definition of the phenomenon; and the neglect of cultural and historical difference. The article ends with recommendations for future collaborative research projects.

Type
Theoretical approaches
Information
Diogenes , Volume 62 , Issue 3-4: Conspiracy Theories Today , November 2015 , pp. 17 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © ICPHS 2020

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