Resilience through conspiracy? Rethinking conspiracy theories in the context of social exclusion and crisis

Recent research has suggested a link between greater support for radical movements and greater support for conspiracy theories, as well as between experiences of social exclusion and a propensity for engagement with radical groups. Less well studied in this triptych of radicalism, social exclusion and conspiracy is the link between conspiracy theories and articulations of social exclusion. This paper looks at the development of conspiracy theories to analyse how they interact with experiences of social exclusion on an individual and community level. It does this to consider the role that conspiracy theories play not just as an adaptive response to social exclusion, but as a potential means of developing social resilience as a response against patterns of inequality and social exclusion. As part of the European Commission's DRIVE project, this paper draws on 49 interviews conducted in Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with individuals expressing overt support for conspiracy theories and beliefs. It explores engagement with conspiracy theories through various lenses of social exclusion, including economic and other material inequalities, perceived deprivation, political exclusion and individual isolation. Many interviewees framed engagement with conspiracy narratives as providing means for responding to powerlessness caused by perceived or real exclusion and inequality. Such an approach not only challenges our understanding of the role of conspiracy theories in patterns of extremism, but also questions how we think about societal resilience at a time of great political polarisation and upheaval within liberal democracies.