A SPECIFIC SOCIAL FUNCTION OF RUMORS AND CONSPIRACY THEORIES: STRENGHTENING COMMUNITY'S TIES IN TROUBLE TIMES. A MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS

Abstract

International audience ; Rumors and conspiracy theories often flourish in periods of war or political destabilization. Because they are shared in an already cohesive group, they must be seen as collective deliberations or narratives which explain the hidden causes behind evil things. On the one hand, they enhance the dominant and established values to mobilize the in-group; on the other hand they point out a subservice out-group.This paper will analyze this social function of rumors and CT and stress that if, of course, they develop in periods of open conflicts; they also appear in more latent struggles. This is why in this article "trouble times" seems more appropriated than crisis, conflict, war, etc. Hence, several social situations will be examined through three different levels. First, I will remind how rumors and CT play a significant part in the French Revolution or in the ethno-confessional riots in India. Secondly, I will dwell on limited but dramatic cases of violent confrontation with the authorities of dissident groups such as the events in Jonestown and Waco. Finally, I will demonstrate that in a neighborhood even if there is no open conflict, rumors arise to strengthen social conformism and secured leaderships. To conclude, I will question through the current migrant crisis, the paradigm us/them, the self/ the others, in the definition of the enemy.