This study examines the analyzes the 2010 National Tea Party Convention in order to determine whether the Tea Party Movements’ rhetoric is unique from the rhetoric employed by previously studied movements. The study forwards the concept of a pseudo-movement: a movement that appears radical, but has normative, procedural goals.

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Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

This thesis attempts to understand and conceptualize the contemporary popularity of conspiracy theories. While doing this, conspiracy theories are approached as symptoms of current society. Moreover, the issue of what peculiar characteristics of contemporary society are responsible from conspiracy theories has been discussed. Heretofore, the concept of conspiracy theory is defined and its dangerous traits such as, being anti-scientific knowledge types and their ability to be used by fundamentalist ideologies, have been elaborated. In this regard, the success of conspiracy theories is associated with a crisis of modern ideals of society. In this context, Karl Popper&rsquo / s &ldquo / Open Society&rdquo / ideal and his scientific methodology was updated and stressed upon to widen the discussion on conspiracy theories with the reason that Popperian logic offer crucial solutions about widespread conspiracy theories. Lastly, and in parallel to Popper&rsquo / s deductive logic, the arguments about the reasons of conspiracy theories are tested within the context of two different discussions. First, a discussion on Turkish cultural transformation after 1980s was made in order to understand whether the symptoms which were held responsible from popularity of conspiracy theories are applicable and observable in the Turkish case or not. As a second part, the analysis of a book Efendi, which is a popular conspiracy theory in Turkey will be discussed. In consequence, conspiracy theories and conspirational thinking are presented as important and dangerous symptoms of current society, whose reasons should be understood and conceptualized for the sake of peace and democracy.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Delaware, 2005. / Principal faculty advisor: Leitch, Thomas M., Dept. of English. Includes bibliographical references.

Κατά τη διάρκεια της υπατείας του το έτος 63 π.Χ., ο Κικέρων κατάφερε να αποκαλύψει τη συνωμοσία του Κατιλίνα και να σώσει τη Ρώμη από τον κίνδυνο που αυτή ενείχε. Γι’ αυτό ανακηρύχθηκε και “Pater Patriae” («Πατέρας της Πατρίδας»). Τότε ακριβώς, εκφώνησε και τους τέσσερις περίφημους λόγους του «Κατά Κατιλίνα», από τους οποίους οι δύο εκφωνήθηκαν μπροστά στη Σύγκλητο (ο 1ος και ο 4ος Κατιλινιακός Λόγος) και οι άλλοι δύο μπροστά στο δήμο (ο 2ος και ο 3ος Κατιλινιακός Λόγος). / --

Dans cette thèse, nous défendons l'idée que la motivation à se distinguer d'autrui (et plus précisément, le besoin d'unicité) pourrait favoriser l'adoption et l'augmentation des croyances aux théories du complot. Cette relation s'expliquerait par le fait que les individus ayant un fort besoin d'unicité auraient davantage tendance à être attirés par ce qui rare ou inaccessible, et nous argumentons que c'est justement ce qui caractérise les récits conspirationnistes (e.g., impression de détenir des informations secrètes). Nous présenterons 12 études ayant pour but de tester empiriquement cette hypothèse.Parmi les principaux résultats, nous avons montré que les individus disposant d'un niveau de croyances aux théories du complot supérieur à la moyenne pensent avoir un niveau de croyances à ces théories supérieur à celui attribué aux autres (Etudes 4, 5 et 6), ce qui correspond à un prérequis nécessaire à la formulation de notre hypothèse. Nous avons ensuite mis en évidence que plus les personnes possèdent un fort besoin d'unicité, plus elles croient aux théories du complot (Etude 8). Conformément à notre hypothèse, nous avons également démontré que les personnes qui croient aux théories du complot ont plus tendance à penser détenir des informations rares et secrètes à propos de divers complots (Etude 9). Une méta-analyse conduite sur deux études testant le rôle causal du besoin d'unicité sur les croyances aux théories du complot (Etudes 11 et 12) suggère enfin qu'une hausse situationnelle du besoin d'unicité favoriserait la formation des croyances aux théories du complot.Dans l'ensemble, il semblerait donc que le besoin d'unicité intervienne dans l'adoption des croyances aux théories du complot, même si cet effet semble de taille relativement modeste. En conclusion, cette thèse fait partie des rares travaux soulignant le rôle des explications motivationnelles dans l'adhésion aux théories du complot. / In this thesis, we argue that the desire to be different from others (i.e., the need for uniqueness) would foster the adoption and increase of conspiracy beliefs. This relationship may be due to the fact that people with high need for uniqueness are more likely to be attracted by what is scarce and unavailable. We argue that scarcity and unavailability specifically characterizes conspiracy narratives (e.g., the conviction to hold secret information). We present 12 studies testing empirically this hypothesis.Among our main results, we show that people with high level of beliefs in conspiracy theories think that they have a higher level of beliefs in these theories compared to others (Studies 4, 5 and 6), that is a necessary prerequisite to our hypothesis. Then, we highlighted that people with a high need for uniqueness believe more in conspiracy theories (Study 8). According to our hypothesis, we also demonstrate that high believers in conspiracy theories are more likely to think that they possess secret information about various conspiracies (Study 9). A meta-analysis conducted on two studies testing the causal role of need for uniqueness on conspiracy beliefs (Studies 11 and 12) suggests that a situation in which need for uniqueness is enhanced increases people's conspiracy beliefs.Taken together, these studies suggest that the need for uniqueness plays a role in the endorsement of conspiracy theories, although the effect size seems relatively modest. To conclude, this thesis is one of the few works devoted to exploring the role of motivational explanations for conspiracy beliefs.

This thesis adopts a cross-disciplinary approach to explore the development of the conspiracy thriller genre in British cinema during the 1980s. There is considerable academic interest in the Hollywood conspiracy cycle that emerged in America during the 1970s. Films such as The Parallax View (Pakula, 1975) and All the President's Men (Pakula, 1976) are indicative of the genre, and sought to reflect public anxieties about perceived government misdeeds and misconduct within the security services. In Europe during the same period, directors Costa-Gavras and Francesco Rosi were exploring similar themes of state corruption and conspiracy in films such as State of Siege (1972) and Illustrious Corpses (1976). This thesis provides a comprehensive account of how a similar conspiracy cycle emerged in Britain in the following decade. We will examine the ways in which British film-makers used the conspiracy form to reflect public concerns about issues of defence and national security, and questioned the measures adopted by the British government and the intelligence community to combat Soviet subversion during the last decade of the Cold War. Unlike other research exploring espionage in British film and television, this research is concerned exclusively with the development of the conspiracy thriller genre in mainstream cinema. This has been achieved using three case studies: Defence of the Realm (Drury, 1986), The Whistle Blower (Langton, 1987) and The Fourth Protocol (MacKenzie, 1987). For each case study chapter, interviews have been conducted with the film-makers in order to gain insight into the aims and motivations that underpin each film. As well as employing these first-hand accounts of the production contexts, close analysis of film style is provided in order to understand the ways in which the British genre is informed stylistically by its Hollywood and European forebears. This means that for the first time, the British conspiracy cycle can be understood within a wider historical and cinematic context. Detractors of the conspiracy genre argue that it offers audiences a simplistic view of complex political events. We will reflect on this criticism and evaluate the extent to which the British films provide meaningful political comment within the conventions of mainstream cinema.

The thesis examines Serbian conspiracy culture at the time of the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia in the spring of 1999. During the war, conspiratorial themes became a regular occurrence in Serbian mainstream media, as well as in pronouncements by the Serbian political establishment. For the most part, conspiratorial explanations focused on the machinations of transnational elite organisations such as the Bilderberg group or, more generally, on the conspiracy of 'the West'. However, conspiratorial accounts of the war occasionally invoked themes which were previously deemed to be beyond the boundaries of acceptable opinion, such as the allusion to a Jewish conspiracy or to the esoteric and occult aspects of the alleged plot. The thesis outlines the history of conspiracy theories in Serbia and critically reviews psychological approaches to understanding the nature of conspiracy theories. It suggests that the study of conspiratorial discourse requires the exploration of the rhetorical and argumentative structure of specific conspiratorial explanations, while paying special attention to the historical and ideological context within which these explanations are situated. The thesis is largely based upon the examination of the coverage of the war in the Serbian press. Recorded conversations with two well-known Serbian conspiracy theorists are also analysed. The study suggest that conspiratorial interpretations of the war drew upon a longstanding conspiracy tradition of explanation which has a strong anti-semitic legacy and is rooted in right-wing Christian ideology. Analytic chapters explore the discursive and ideological dynamics by which the anti-semitic and mystical aspects of the conspiracy tradition emerged briefly in Serbian mainstream media and political discourse. The thesis concludes by examining the status of conspiracy theories in Serbia in the aftermath of the political changes in October 2000.

abstract: Political party identification has an immense influence on shaping individual attitudes and processes of reasoning to the point where otherwise knowledgeable people endorse political conspiracies that support one's political in-group and simultaneously disparage an out-group. Although recent research has explored this tendency among partisans, less is known about how Independents respond in comparison. Previous research fails to identify the Independent as a unique type of voter, but rather categorizes this group as ostensibly partisan, not a separate phenomenon to investigate. However, most Independents purport neutrality and, by recent polls, are becoming a substantial body worthy of concerted focus. Many questions arise about who Independents really are. For example, do all who identify as Independent behave in a similar manner? Are Independents ideologically different than what is represented by a partisan label? Is the Independent category a broad term for something entirely misunderstood? A thorough investigation into the greater dynamics of the political environment in the United States is an enormous undertaking, requiring a robust interdisciplinary approach beyond the focus and intent of this study. Therefore, this study begins the journey toward understanding these phenomena; do Independents, as a whole, uniformly respond to statements about political conspiracy theories? To explore these possibilities, explicit responses are bypassed to evaluate the implicit appeal of political conspiracy theories. An action dynamics (mouse-tracking) approach, a data rich method that records the response process, demonstrates Independents are not in fact a homogeneous group, but rather seem to fall into two groups: non-partisan leaning and partisan leaning. The analysis exposes that relative to the baseline and control stimuli: (1) Non-leaning Independents reveal an increased susceptibility to implicitly endorse bi-partisan directed conspiracy theories when compared to leaners. (2) Republican-leaners demonstrate a stronger susceptibility to endorse right-wing aligned conspiracy theories (against Barack Obama), similar to Republican partisans. (3) Democrat-leaners, unlike Democrat partisans, do not demonstrate any particular susceptibility to implicitly endorse either right/left-wing aligned conspiracy theories (against Barack Obama or George W. Bush). Drawing from major theories from social, political, and cognitive psychology will contribute to an understanding of these phenomena. Concluding remarks include study limitations and future directions. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2017