Conspiracies and Conspiracy Theories in the Age of Trump

Softcover Nachdruck of the original 1. Auflage 2019
ISBN: 978-3-030-07458-6
Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 300 Seiten, Previously published in hardcover, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 421 g

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 which they offer a more profound challenge to the constituted state than ever before.

Zielgruppe

Research

Autoren/Hrsg.

Hellinger, Daniel C.

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaften: Allgemeines Volksglaube & Umstrittenes Wissen
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Medienwissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Geschichte
• Sozialwissenschaften Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaften Kommunikationswissenschaften
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politikwissenschaft Allgemein Politische Studien zu einzelnen Ländern und Gebieten
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Politische Kommunikation und Partizipation

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction: Conspiracy Theory versus Theorizing Conspiracy.- 2. Paranoia, Conspiracy Panic, and the Regime of Truth.- 3. Trumpism, Fake News and the “New Normal”.- 4. Suspicious Minds, the 2016 Election and Its Aftermath.- 5. Globalization, Populism, Conspiracism.- 6. Dark Money and Trumpism.- 7. The Deep State, Hegemony, and Democracy.- 8. Conclusion: Conspiracy Theories and Political Decay.

Über Autor(innen)

Daniel C. Hellinger is Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Webster University, USA. He has previously published: “Paranoia, Conspiracy, Hegemony in American Politics” in Transparency and Conspiracy: Ethnographies of Suspicion in the New World Order (2003) and “Conspiracy Theory and the Paranoid Style” in American Political Culture: An Encyclopedia (2015), and co-authored The Democratic Façade (2 edition, 1991). His most recent books are Comparative Politics of Latin America: Democracy at Last? (2014), Global Security Watch: Venezuela (2012), and, as co-editor and contributor, Bolivarian Democracy in Venezuela: Participation, Politics and Culture (2011).