Conference: ‘Populism and Conspiracy Theories in the Americas’

TÜBINGEN | SEPTEMBER 15-17, 2022

The second international conference of the ERC-funded project PACT: Populism and Conspiracy Theory, titled ‘Populism and Conspiracy Theories in the Americas’, took place on 15-17 September 2022, hosted by the University of Tübingen, Germany. Keynote speakers were Letícia Cesarino (Federal University of Santa Catarina), Mark Fenster (University of Florida) and Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser (Diego Portales University).

With the growing visibility of conspiracy theories and the emergence of populist movements and parties around the world, the exploration of possible connections between the two is drawing an increasing number of researchers in recent years. Many populist leaders employ conspiracist rhetoric and followers of populist parties and movements are often seen as more susceptible to believing in conspiracy theories than others. However, the relationship between the two has not yet been comprehensively explored. The few studies (for example, by Paul Taggart or Mark Fenster) that attempt a general theorization of the connection consider conspiracy theories a secondary feature or a non-necessary element of populism. Conspiracy theories, they suggest, occur in many but not in all populist movements. Other scholars (for example, Ruth Wodak or Karin Priester) have argued that there is a special affinity between right-wing populism and conspiracy theory.

The US has provided both one of the first and one of the most recent case studies of populism as a movement and in power respectively. Latin America has been a well-studied region with regard to populist governments across the Left-Right political spectrum. More recently, we have witnessed populist heads of State actively engaging with, or even employing, conspiracy theories in their public discourse. From QAnon to micro-chips inside the Covid-19 vaccines to the ‘gay kit’, conspiracy theories have not only left the fringe but in many cases informed government policy. Are there historical connections or ‘elective affinities’ between populism and conspiracy theories? What are the specific socio-political contexts in which populism and conspiracy theories have historically come together in the Americas, and how do these conditions differ from other parts of the world? How can we analytically approach processes of mutual influence and entanglement between North and South America or think about the role of real conspiracies (e.g., US interventionism in Latin America) in fuelling conspiratorial imagination? What has the role of social media been in the circulation of conspiracy theories in recent years? Are they more popular now than in the past? How, if at all, do conspiracy theories inform populist politics from South to North America? What political uses does populist discourse make of conspiracy theories? Can we distinguish between Left and Right populism in their use of conspiracist rhetoric?

Over three days, the conference successfully addressed these and related questions. It focussed on both theoretical considerations as well as empirical findings on the relationship between populism and conspiracy theory in the Americas.