Skip to content

Conference: ‘Populism, Conspiracy Theories and the War Against Ukraine’

TALLINN | SEPTEMBER 25-27, 2024

The final conference of the ERC-funded project “PACT: Populism and Conspiracy Theory” took place in Tallinn, Estonia on 25-27 September 2024. It was organized in collaboration with the Institute of Philosophy and Semiotics at the University of Tartu. Situated at the crossroads of Eastern and Western influences, Estonia served as a poignant backdrop for this event, having historically witnessed the interplay of diverse narratives and ideologies. Keynotes were delivered by Anastasiya Astapova, Elżbieta Drążkiewicz, Peter Knight, and Scott Radnitz.

The conference had both a theoretical and a thematic focus. We were interested in theoretical investigations of the relationship between conspiracy theory, on the one hand, and populism, polarization, tribalism, democracy and democratic back-sliding, and/or extremism, on the other, from disciplines across the social sciences and humanities. We sought papers that employ qualitative methodologies as well as quantitative studies or mixed-methods. However, we were particularly interested in online or offline ethnographies of conspiracist communities.

At the same time, we invited submissions that specifically address conspiracy theories about the Russian war against Ukraine. As the pandemic ended, the invasion began. What remained were the conspiracy theories. In some cases, new narratives about bio labs and U.S. interference replaced older ones about lockdowns and vaccines. In other cases, the pandemic and war were integrated into overarching superconspiracy scenarios. What also did not change was that these conspiracy theories were and are truly believed by many who spread them, whereas there are also others who cynically used them as disinformation to achieve their goals. This interplay of genuine belief and strategic deployment is of special interest to us. So are the transnational flows and specific regional or national manifestations of conspiracy theories about the war, and the resonance that they have found in populist discourses in many countries.

PACT will cover the travel and accommodation costs of all speakers and provide most of the meals throughout the conference.

Abstracts (PDF)
Conference Program (PDF)
Reimbursement Form (PDF)
Wednesday, September 25
09:00 am PACT Advisory Board Meeting
10:30 amCoffee and Registration
11:00 amConference Opening (Michael Butter and Mari-Liis Madisson)
11:30 amScott Radnitz (University of Washington), “The Mainstreaming of Conspiracy”
Chair: Mari-Liis Madisson (University of Tartu)
01:00 pmLunch
02:00 pmPanel 1: Theorizing Conspiracy Theory I
Chair: Massimo Leone (University of Turin)
Giacomo Loperfido (University of Tübingen): “‘A Non-Party’: Populism, Conspiracy Theory and the Symbolic Logics of Indeterminacy in the Italian 5 Stars Movement”
Simona Stano (University of Turin): “Scapegoating and Conspiracy Thinking: A Semiotic Perspective”
Itai Siegel (Leiden University): “How Democratic Actors Respond to Conspiracy Theories: A Qualitative Exploration”
03:30 pmCoffee Break
04:00 pmPanel 2: Theorizing Conspiracy Theory II
Chair: Annika Rabo (University of Stockholm)
Jaron Harambam (University of Amsterdam), Boris Nordenboos (University of Amsterdam), Kris Ruijgrok (University of Leiden),: “Translating Propaganda: Conspiracy Theories as Multimodal Drivers of Polarisation”
Heidi Piva (University of Turin): “Conspiracy Theories in the Process of Radicalization: Eurabia and Anti-vaccine Conspiracy Theories on Telegram”
Sofia Scacco (University of Turin): “Unintuitive Alliances: “‘Mainstream Media’ and ‘Counter-Information’ in their Reciprocal Struggle for Legitimacy”
06:00 pmDinner
07:30 pmPeter Knight (University of Manchester), “Populism and the Politics of Big Disinfo, or: Everything You Have Been Told about Conspiracy Theories Is a Lie.”
Chair: Michael Butter (University of Tübingen)
Thursday, September 26
09:30 am Panel 3: Theorizing Populism
Chair: Clare Birchall (King’s College London)
Susana Salgado (University of Lisbon), Cicero R. Pereira (University of Lisbon), Afonso Biscaia (University of Lisbon),: “Populism, Denialism, and Conspiracy Theories: A Survey Approach”
Massimo Leone (University of Turin): “On Stochastic Populism”
Eirikur Bergmann (Bifröst University): “Three-Step Rhetorical Model of Conspiratorial Populists”
11:00 amCoffee Break
11:30 amElżbieta Drążkiewicz (Lund University), “Why I No Longer Want to Talk about Trust When Discussing Conspiracy Theories: Analysis of Conspiracy Theories as Narratives of Treachery and Broken Loyalties”
Chair: Mari-Liis Madisson (University of Tartu)
01:00 pmLunch
02:00 pmPanel 4: The Americas
Chair: Susana Salgado (University of Lisbon)
Massimiliano Demata (University of Turin): “Discursive Constructions and Legitimation of ‘Truth’: The Hammer/Scorecard Conspiracy Theory”
Katerina Hatzikidi (University of Tübingen): “A Different Kind of War: The Relevance of ‘Guerra Cultural’ for the Brazilian Far-Right”
Andrew Woods (Western University, Canada): “The Night of the Living LaRouche: On Neo-LaRouchean Conspiracy Theories and the Russian War Against Ukraine”
03:30 pmCoffee Break
04:00 pmPanel 5: Russia I
Chair: Franciszek Czech (Jagiellonian University)
Andreas Ventsel (University of Tartu): “‘The Future is the Past’ – History-Themed Conspiracy Theories in the Context of the Ukrainian War.”
Daria Khlevnyuk (University of Amsterdam): “Conspiratorial Memory vs Conspiracy: Russian Nationalist Groups, Conspiracy Behind the USSR’s Demise, and the Russo-Ukrainian War.”
Oksana Belova-Dalton (University of Tartu): “Conspiracy Theories Spread by the Far-Right Patriotic Opposition to Putin’s Regime During Russia’s War on Ukraine”
06:00 pmDinner
07:30 pmAnastasiya Astapova (University of Tartu), “Conspiracy Theories Among Russian-Speakers in Estonia: Two Years after the War in Ukraine”
Chair: Michael Butter (University of Tübingen)
Friday, September 27
09:00 am Panel 6: Russia II
Chair: Peter Knight (University of Manchester)
Yelyzaveta Monastyrova (Open University): “Human Trafficking Conspiracy Theories in Russian Disinformation Campaigns”
Boris Noordenbos (University of Amsterdam): “Nuclear Conspiracism in Times of War”
Alina Mozolevska (Petro Mohyla University): “Memetic Warfare and Conspiracies about the Russo-Ukrainian War in Social Media Communication”
10:30 amCoffee Break
11:00 amPanel 7: The Impcact of Russian Conspiracy Theories Abroad
Chair: Péter Krekó (Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences)
Anna Greszta (University of Amsterdam): “Nothing is What it Seems: (Un)Masking and Conspiratorial Memory in Sergei Loznitsa’s Donbass”
Andrey Makarychev (University of Tartu): ““Russian Biopolitical Propaganda and Local Collaborationists: The Story of Mariupol”
Olena Siden (Petro Mohyla University): “Never Take a Single Cent of Russian Money: Russian Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine as a Sequence of Kremlin Funding French Far-Right”
12:30 pmLunch
01:30 pmPanel 8: Poland
Chair: Elzbieta Drazkiewicz Grodzicka (Lund University)
Franciszek Czech (Jagiellonian University): “Reception of Conspiracist Fake News Related to War in Ukraine. Case of Poland.”
Maria Plichta (University of Amsterdam): TBA
Kinga Polynczuk-Alenius (Polish Academy of Sciences): “‘This isn’t a Tinfoil Hat Conspiracy Theory, it’s a Conspiracy Theory in the Truest Sense of the Word’: On the Epistemic-Communicative Practices of Conspiratorial Communities on Telegram”
03:00 pmCoffee Break
04:00 pmPanel 9: Hungary
Chair: Eirikur Bergmann (Bifrost University)
Dominik Zelinsky (Slovak Academy of Sciences), Terezia Sabova (Slovak Academy of Sciences): “Conspiracy Theories in V4 Countries and the Russian Invasion of Ukraine”
Péter Krekó (Eötvös Loránd University of Sciences): “The Viral Warfare: Uncovering the Connection between Conspiracy Theories on COVID and the War in Ukraine”
Lili Turza (University of Tübingen): “‘He Who Pays the Piper Calls the Tune’: Conspiracy Theories of War and Peace in Viktor Orbán’s Hungary Amidst the Russian Invasion of Ukraine”
05:00 pmCoffee Break
05:30 pmPanel 10: Central Europe
Chair: Claus Oberhauser (University College of Teacher Education Tyrol)
Nebojša Blanuša and Vedran Jerbić (University of Zagreb): “Conspiracy Theories on the Ukraine War in the ‘Balkan Triangle’: Comparative Analysis of Social Networks in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia.”
Constanze Jeitler (University of Tübingen): “The Austrian Far Right and Russia from a Historical Perspective”
Pavol Hardos (Comenius University): “‘By God, we shall drive them out!’: Conspiracy Theories and Illiberal Politics of Victimhood and Revenge”
07:00 pmConcluding Remarks