Conspiracy theories give concrete form to a group’s sensed loss of power
Evidence
Thus conspiracy theories, in the more sophisticated academic readings, look like a way to give corporeal form to hard-to-define anxieties, a foe on which to pin the varied worries and misfortunes of a group that senses marginalization, like conservatives during the 1960s and again in the Obama years, when they sensed power and cultural influence slipping from their grasp. — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 58
Categorization
- XREF: Directly parallels vault claims about status-threat driving prejudice and authoritarianism among dominant groups; and resonates with moral-panic and white-backlash material. — connects to: Conspiracy belief functions as a coping mechanism for groups facing loss and marginalization — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 146; Documented historical injustices make group conspiracy suspicion a rational default — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 172; Conspiracy movements recruit across divergent groups by serving different emotional needs — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 271 (+16 more)
Broader Connections
- Lost status and powerlessness, read as elite conspiracy, drive scapegoating conspiracism
#corroborates(0.95) — Russell Muirhead and Nancy L. Rosenblum, A Lot of People Are Saying, 140 - Conspiracy functions as a power play by the powerless to be seen.
#expands(0.85) - Out-of-power domestic groups generate most conspiratorial talk
#expands(0.85) — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 699 - Collapse of institutional trust creates a narrative power vacuum that conspiracy ideologies fill
#qualifies(0.80) — Anna Merlan, Republic of Lies, 122 - Superiority claims generate conspiracy theories to explain past defeats
#expands(0.80) — Neil DeVotta, Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology, 203 - Out-of-power groups always drive conspiracy talk as winners disengage
#corroborates(0.80) — Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories, 590