Is democracy under threat? Why belief in conspiracy theories predicts autocratic attitudes

No abstract is available for this paper.

• Publication year

  2023

• Venue

  European Journal of Social Psychology

• Publication date

  2023-03-13

• Fields of study

  Not labeled

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1002/ejsp.2939
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• The complex relationship between conspiracy belief and the politics of social change.

  2022cited by this paper
• Cause and effect: On the antecedents and consequences of conspiracy theory beliefs

  2022cited by this paper
• There are higher levels of conspiracy beliefs in more corrupt countries

  2022cited by this paper
• Stolen Elections: How Conspiracy Beliefs During the 2020 American Presidential Elections Changed over Time

  2022cited by this paper
• Unravelling the relationship between populism and belief in conspiracy theories: The role of cynicism, powerlessness and zero-sum thinking.

  2022cited by this paper
• Tearing apart the "evil" twins: A general conspiracy mentality is not the same as specific conspiracy beliefs.

  2022cited by this paper
• Economic inequality and conspiracy theories.

  2022cited by this paper
• Psychological Correlates of Populist Attitudes

  2021cited by this paper
• Moral Polarization Predicts Support for Authoritarian and Progressive Strong Leaders via the Perceived Breakdown of Society

  2021cited by this paper
• Power to the People: The Hidden Link Between Support for Direct Democracy and Belief in Conspiracy Theories

  2021cited by this paper
• Conspiracy theory as heresy

  2021cited by this paper
• What breeds conspiracy antisemitism? The role of political uncontrollability and uncertainty in the belief in Jewish conspiracy.

  2020cited by this paper
• Xenophobia, prejudice, and right-wing populism in East-Central Europe

  2020cited by this paper
• Conspiracy theories, election rigging, and support for democratic norms

  2020cited by this paper
• Conspiracy Theories and Their Societal Effects During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  2020cited by this paper
• Uncertain Self in a Changing World: A Foundation for Radicalisation, Populism, and Autocratic Leadership

  2020cited by this paper
• Believing in hidden plots is associated with decreased behavioral trust: Conspiracy belief as greater sensitivity to social threat or insensitivity towards its absence?

  2020cited by this paper
• Conspiracy Beliefs and Violent Extremist Intentions: The Contingent Effects of Self-efficacy, Self-control and Law-related Morality

  2020cited by this paper
• “Our Country Needs a Strong Leader Right Now”: Economic Inequality Enhances the Wish for a Strong Leader

  2019cited by this paper
• Pulling the Strings? The Strategic Use of Pro-Government Mobilization in Authoritarian Regimes

  2019cited by this paper
• Understanding Conspiracy Theories

  2019cited by this paper
• Right-wing authoritarianism as a predictor of pro-establishment versus anti-establishment conspiracy theories

  2019cited by this paper
• Belief in conspiracy theories: Basic principles of an emerging research domain

  2018cited by this paper
• Populism, Anti-Populism and Democracy

  2018cited by this paper
• Great expectations: the effect of democratic ideals on political trust in European democracies

  2017cited by this paper
• Conspiracy theories as part of history: The role of societal crisis situations

  2017cited by this paper
• A Birther and a Truther: The Influence of the Authoritarian Personality on Conspiracy Beliefs

  2017cited by this paper
• Too special to be duped: Need for uniqueness motivates conspiracy beliefs.

  2017cited by this paper
• Brexit, Trump, and Post-Truth Politics

  2017cited by this paper
• Populism: A Very Short Introduction

  2017cited by this paper
• Post-truth Politics

  2016cited by this paper
• The spreading of misinformation online

  2016cited by this paper
• The emotional roots of conspiratorial perceptions, system justification, and belief in the paranormal

  2015cited by this paper
• Political Extremism Predicts Belief in Conspiracy Theories

  2015cited by this paper
• The Influence of Control on Belief in Conspiracy Theories: Conceptual and Applied Extensions

  2015cited by this paper
• Medical conspiracy theories and health behaviors in the United States.

  2014cited by this paper
• The social consequences of conspiracism: Exposure to conspiracy theories decreases intentions to engage in politics and to reduce one's carbon footprint.

  2014cited by this paper
• Speaking (Un–)Truth to Power: Conspiracy Mentality as A Generalised Political Attitude

  2014cited by this paper
• Measuring Individual Differences in Generic Beliefs in Conspiracy Theories Across Cultures: Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire

  2013cited by this paper
• Detecting outliers: Do not use standard deviation around the mean, use absolute deviation around the median

  2013cited by this paper
• Stripping the Political Cynic: A Psychological Exploration of the Concept of Political Cynicism

  2012cited by this paper
• God and the government: testing a compensatory control mechanism for the support of external systems.

  2008cited by this paper
• Lacking Control Increases Illusory Pattern Perception

  2008cited by this paper
• Political paranoia v. political realism: on distinguishing between bogus conspiracy theories and genuine conspiratorial politics

  2007cited by this paper
• Of Conspiracy Theories

  1999cited by this paper
• Conspiracy Thinking in the Middle East

  1994cited by this paper
• Sources of Popular Support for Authoritarian Regimes

  1989cited by this paper
• Political Cynicism: Measurement and Meaning

  1961cited by this paper

• Conspiracyphobia: ‘Conspiracy Theory’ and the Neoliberal Disavowal of Conspiratorial Power

  2026cites this paper
• Criminology, Conspiracy Theories and Theorizing Conspiracy

  2025cites this paper
• Conspiracy beliefs and democratic backsliding: Longitudinal effects of election conspiracy beliefs on criticism of democracy and support for authoritarianism during political contests

  2025influential citation
• ‘Sour grapes and the seeds of discontent’: Citizens in ressentiment and the populist surge

  2025cites this paper
• “Dissatisfied democrats, but democrats nonetheless?” Unraveling the democratic paradox between populism and preference for alternative political systems

  2025cites this paper
• Active Social Media Users on Conspiracy Facebook Groups. Political, Leadership, and Worldview Profiles

  2025cites this paper
• Anti-immigration conspiracy beliefs are associated with endorsement of conventional and violent actions opposing immigration and attitudes towards democracy across 21 countries

  2025cites this paper
• Law and order, magical spirits, and false flag operations: On the co‐occurrence of authoritarianism, spirituality, and conspiracy beliefs and their association with support of violent protests

  2025cites this paper
• How belief in conspiracy theories could harm sustainability

  2025cites this paper
• Explaining political cynicism in a non-Western context: the case of Guyana

  2025cites this paper
• Ingroup conspiratorial beliefs: Re-thinking racial/ethnic minority group conspiracy in the UK and US

  2025cites this paper
• The ‘sour grapes’ of conspiracy theories: how does the emotion of ressentiment predict conspiracy beliefs?

  2025cites this paper
• The Impact of Freedom of Speech on Conspiracy Beliefs

  2025cites this paper
• Please reduce the gap! How psychological distance to politics fuels belief in conspiracy theories

  2025influential citation
• Free from conspiracies: The negative relationship between societal freedom and belief in generic and content‐specific conspiracy theories

  2025cites this paper
• “Am I My Fellow Citizens’ Keeper?” Distrust, Democratic Backsliding, and Conspiracy Theories

  2025cites this paper
• COVID-19 conspiracy belief and conceptions of democracy

  2024cites this paper
• Using LLMs to Enhance Democracy

  2024cites this paper
• Exploring the Extremes: The Impact of Radical Right-Wing Populism on Conspiracy Beliefs in Austria

  2024cites this paper
• Emotional Predictors of Populism in the Case of Turkey

  2024cites this paper
• Die Verbreitung antisemitischer Einstellungen in Deutschland: Befunde aktueller repräsentativer Befragungen zu Trends seit 2021 und den Einflüssen von Migrationshintergrund, Religionszugehörigkeit und Religiosität

  2024cites this paper
• Group-oriented motivations underlying conspiracy theories

  2024cites this paper
• Rejection of the status quo: Conspiracy theories and preference for alternative political systems.

  2024cites this paper
• Anything but Representative Democracy: Explaining Conspiracy Believers’ Support for Direct Democracy and Technocracy

  2024influential citation
• Komplo Güdümlü Siyasal Partilerin Yükselişi ve Türkiye’den Yeniden Refah Partisi Örneği

  2024cites this paper
• Authoritarian and Populist Challenges to Democracy Correspond to a Lack of Economic, Social, and Cultural Capitals

  2023cites this paper
• Exploring the Nexus between Conspiracy Beliefs and Creativity, Attitudes toward People, and Psychological Wellbeing: Insights from the 10th European Social Survey

  2023cites this paper
• Conspiracy Theory Belief: A Sane Response to an Insane World?

  2023cites this paper
• Change by (almost) all means: The role of conspiracy mentality in predicting support for social change among the political left and right

  2023cites this paper
• Democracy, Peace, and Religion in Nigeria: Can Religion Be Used to Consolidate or Undermine Democracy and Peace?

  2023cites this paper