The Political Hazards of Populist Conspiracy Theories
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.46991/BYSU:D/2022.13.1.061Keywords:
ideology, populism, conspiracy, conspiracy theory, populist conspiracy theory, political hazard, extremism, authoritarianism, democracyAbstract
The article discusses the political hazards of the populist conspiracy theories, which are simultaneously widely spread in both Western and Armenian political discourses in the last century. In the context of ideological analysis of populism and conspiracy theories the common ideological and ideational components have been summarized, which determine the ideological content of populist conspiracy theories. The
article identifies the general political hazards of the populist conspiracy theories for the societies with democratic political organization: discrimination of the people on the basis of moral contradiction “good people” - “evil elite”, manifestation of extremism, denial of the principles underlying democratic institutions - trust and pluralism, antiscience, a tendency to authoritarianism.
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