Abstract
This chapter compares and contrasts the nature and role of conspiracy ideation in populist nationalist movements of the United States and Europe. Through an examination of right-wing discourses, we explore the unique historical evolutions and employment of conspiracies rooted in three phenomena. The first is fear narratives about race and ethnicity, for example, “the international Jew,” an impending race war, or the Islamicization of the West. The second is collusions based on threats to state sovereignty. This would include the European Union and Agenda 21, the United Nations’ action plan with regard to sustainable development. The third is threats posed by manipulative scientific communities. Examples of these are the climate change “hoax,” and anti-vaccination movements. Ultimately, we show that the distinct political and historical climates of the United States and Europe lead to different levels of engagement with and reliance on various narratives. These findings are then used to demonstrate the context for the spread of extreme ideologies within national populist movements.
This chapter explores the conspiracy narratives employed in contemporary right-wing populist movements of the United States and the United Kingdom. Right-wing populism has long been present in the United States, starting with the American Revolution. The movement excluded women, people of color, and poor individuals. Framing the British crown as elitist, it scapegoated this entity to turn attention from inequality in colonial society. The Tea Party Patriots is a reform-oriented social movement organization that employs themes of right-wing populism and is the largest organization under the broader Tea Party umbrella. The United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) began as the Anti-Federalist League, a single-issue anti-European Union party in 1991, led by academic Alan Sked. Right-wing populist frames about Agenda 21 have a slightly different character in the UK. Fears about a "gun-grab" and government-run concentration camps, for instance, are not generally articulated by UKIP.