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Conspiracy theories are attracting increasing attention from political scientists, much of it negative. Three recent books, from the disciplines of political science, cultural history and social theory, provide a valuable critical corrective. Uscinski and Parent argue that conspiracy theories are connected to partisan distrust and are largely stable across the twentieth century. Michael Butter uses detailed historical cases from the Puritan witch trials to the Red Scare of the 1950s to show the central and influential role that conspiratorial beliefs have played in American history. Luc Boltanski focuses on conspiracy narratives in early detective and spy novels, but situates them in a broader account of the relation between the state, the social and political sciences, and popular representations of political power. Taken together, these books place the problem of conspiracy theory firmly in the context of democratic politics, opening important empirical and conceptual questions about partisanship, populism, publicity and secrecy. Boltanski, L. (2014) Mysteries and Conspiracies: Detective Stories, Spy Novels and the Making of Modern Societies. Translated by Catherine Porter. Cambridge: Polity Press. Butter, M. (2014) Plots, Designs and Schemes: American Conspiracy Theories from the Puritans to the Present. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Uscinski, J. E. and Parent, J. M. (2014) American Conspiracy Theories. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

"This book focuses on the constant tension between democracy and conspiratorial behavior in the new global order. It addresses the prevalence of conspiracy theories in the phenomenon of Donald Trump and Trumpism, and the paranoid style of American politics that existed long before, first identified with Richard Hofstadter. Hellinger looks critically at both those who hold conspiracy theory beliefs and those who rush to dismiss them. Hellinger argues that we need to acknowledge that the exercise of power by elites is very often conspiratorial and invites both realistic and outlandish conspiracy theories. How we parse the realistic from the outlandish demands more attention than typically accorded in academia and journalism. Tensions between global hegemony and democratic legitimacy become visible in populist theories of conspiracy, both on the left and the right. He argues that we do not live in an age in which conspiracy theories are more profligate, but that we do live in an age in whcih they offer a more profound challenge to the constituted state than ever before"--Publisher's description.

Between internal enemies and external threats : how conspiracy theories have shaped Europe : an introduction / Andreas Önnerfors and André Krouwel -- The new European order : Euroscepticism and conspiracy-belief / André Krouwel and Jan-Willem van Prooijen -- The Eurabia conspiracy theory / Eirikur Bergmann -- Metaphors of invasion : imagining Europe as endangered by Islamization / Estrella Gualda -- "Der Grosse Austausch" : conspiratorial frames of terrorist violence in Germany / Andreas Önnerfors -- Denying the geopolitical reality : the case of the German "Reich citizens" / Florian Buchmayr -- The fourth Reich in Europe : conspiracy theories about Germany in the Greek press during the economic crisis / Alexianna Tsotsou -- Populist conspiracy rhetoric and arguments on EU immigration : an exploratory analysis of pro-Brexit newspapers / Irina Diana Mădroane -- The eternal George Soros : rise of an antisemitic and Islamophobic conspiracy theory / Armin Langer -- EU-related conspiracy theories in the western Balkans : gravitating between rejecting and embracing Europe through Eurovilification and Eurofundamentalism / Nebojša Blanuša, Ognjan Denkovski, Kristijan Fidanovski and Biljana Gjoneska -- The Brussels conspiracy : narratives of EU-related conspiracy theories in pro-Kremlin media / Jakov Bojovic -- Culture of fear : the decline of Europe in Russian political imagination / Holger Mölder -- Unlocking the "black box" of conspiracy theories in and about Europe / Andreas Önnerfors and André Krouwel.

Abstract
Conspiracy theories surrounding the death of celebrities have become an integral facet of the millennial western culturescape, particularly in relation to iconic celebrity figures such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, John Lennon and Princess Diana Spencer. This article delineates these 'celebrity death conspiracies' as distinct forms of conspiracy theory that function to assert and develop processes of spectacle and attention integral to the concept of celebrity and the operations of celebrity culture. Such conspiracy theories also serve as a means for publicizing normally marginalized conspiracist world-views within the contexts of popular culture. The article concludes by discussing two contemporary trends associated with celebrity death conspiracies: the deliberate elaboration of such theories by celebrities for publicity purposes, and the rise of 'New Age Illuminism' as a conspiracist world-view in which celebrity plays a major role, as illustrated by the celebrity death conspiracies that have developed around the late singer Michael Jackson.

Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- INTRODUCTION -- SECTION ONE Conspiracy in a New Nation -- SECTION TWO Conspiracy in an Age of Democracy -- SECTION THREE Conspiracy in a Divided Nation -- SECTION FOUR Conspiracy in the Industrial Age through the New Deal -- SECTION FIVE Conspiracy in the Cold War Era -- SECTION SIX Conspiracy in Contemporary America -- FOR FURTHER READING -- INDEX

As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc around the world, conspiracy theories surrounding it have also risen, with potentially dangerous consequences. Belief in such theories can threaten both public health efforts to combat the virus and individual's behaviour toward Covid-19 protocol. As well, is it simply pandemic behaviour being impacted, or are individual's identities, such as their political ideology, being impacted too? Increasingly, individual identity factors, such as race or religion, are being grouped together with political ideologies. Therefore, conspiracy communities may also be tied to particular ideological beliefs. Is there a connection between one's political ideology and a tendency towards Covid-19 conspiracy belief? Using data gathered from over 1500 survey respondents during the time of the 2020 BC election my research looks at whether such a relationship exists.Respondents were asked to position themselves on a traditional left-right ideological scale and then rate the truthfulness of several popular Covid-19 conspiracy theories. From here, I am able to compare the two variables. My presentation will cover the results of my analysis and discuss how my results fit into the broader literature on conspiracy belief. Further, I will consider some potential implications of my results and how my research can be expanded upon in the future.

Conflicts such as the 1990/91 Gulf War raise a host of issues pertaining to the role of force in the foreign policies of democratic states & the role of the media during such conflicts. Those opposed to the Gulf War saw the media as collusive with illegitimate Western policies, while supporters tended to regard the media as either supportive or not supportive enough of the Western campaign. Focus here is on three aspects of this media coverage: (1) its character; (2) the issues on which, with hindsight, distortion can be said to have occurred; & (3) the political & ethical issues raised in discussion of the media coverage. Analysis of media functioning serves both to probe underlying assumptions about the functions of the media in democratic society & to reexamine debate on one of the most controversial international events of recent times. 29 References. Adapted from the source document.