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Populists in power and conspiracy theories
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-10, 02:16 authored by Andrea L P Pirro, Paul TaggartPaul TaggartThe populist use of tropes such as conspiracy theories play an increasingly important role in their politics. Populism and conspiracy theories present a number of common traits – Manicheanism, a sense of victimhood, and an ambivalence towards representative politics – and populists’ use of conspiracy theories is politically purposeful. Targeting a conspiring elite serves to vilify real or fictional opponents and/or shield populists from hostile attacks. Looking at three cases of populists in government – Orbán in Hungary, Trump in the United States, and Chávez in Venezuela – we examine the definition of conspiring elites (who), the circumstances under which conspiracy theories are propagated (when), and the ultimate purpose of conspiratorial framing (why). We demonstrate how populists in power use conspiracy theories to demonise and delegitimise their opponents, to promote or prolong a sense of crisis, and to rally support while distracting from possible failure.
History
Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Party PoliticsISSN
1354-0688Publisher
SAGE PublicationsExternal DOI
Page range
1-11Department affiliated with
- Politics Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2022-01-14First Open Access (FOA) Date
2022-01-14First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2022-01-14Usage metrics
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