American Conspiracy Theories

We are living in an age of conspiracy theories whether it''s enduring widely held beliefs such as government involvement in the Kennedy assassination or alien activity at Roswell fears of a powerful infiltrating group such as the Illuminati Jews Catholics or communists or modern fringe movements of varying popularity such as birtherism and trutherism. What is it in American culture that makes conspiracy theories proliferate? Who is targeted and why? Are we in the heyday of the conspiracy theory or is it in decline? Though there is significant scholarly literature on the topic in psychology sociology philosophy and more American Conspiracy Theories is the first to use broad long-term empirical data to analyze this popular American tendency. Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent draw on three sources of original data: 120000 letters to the editor of the New York Times and Chicago Tribune from between 1890 and 2010 a two-wave survey from before and after the 2012 presidential election and discussions of conspiracy theories culled from online news sources blogs and other Web sites also from before and after the election. Through these sources they are able to address crucial questions such as similarities and differences in the nature of conspiracy theories over time the role of the Internet and communications technologies in spreading modern conspiracy theories and whether politics economics media war or other factors are most important in popularizing conspiratorial beliefs. Ultimately they conclude that power asymmetries both foreign and domestic are the main drivers behind conspiracy theories and that those at the bottom of power hierarchies have a strategic interest in blaming those at the top-in other words conspiracy theories are for losers. But these losers can end up having tremendous influence on the course of history and American Conspiracy Theories is an unprecedented examination of one of the defining features of American political life.Book Features A fascinating and compelling account of when and why conspiracy theorizing has ebbed and flowed during the past 122 years of American politicsCovers a wide range of theories from recent cases (such as Birthers and Truthers) to all-but-forgotten ones in providing the most comprehensive analysis to date of the topicTable of Contents:PrefaceIntroductionBut is it true? Where our facts come fromWho are the conspiracy theorists? The ages of conspiracyConspiracy theories are for losersConclusion