From conspiracies to insurgence: Understanding the path from conspiracy beliefs to political engagement through the 3N model of radicalization

This research explores the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and political engagement within the 3N model of radicalization, extending the Significance Quest Theory. We hypothesized that political engagement, both violent and non-violent, results from the interaction between the quest for personal significance (QFS), conspiracy beliefs (CB), and network normative influence (NI). In Study 1 (N = 609), conducted with a general sample of the U.S. population, we found that violent political engagement was individually predicted by QFS, CB, and NI, and resulted from the interaction between QFS and NI. Non-violent political engagement was similarly influenced by these main effects, but also resulted from the interaction between CB and NI. However, the hypothesized three-way interaction was not significant for any type of political engagement. Study 2 (N = 570) focused on an ideologically homogeneous sample—Republican voters strongly supporting the 45th U.S. President Donald Trump. The findings confirmed the main effects of QFS, CB, and NI on both violent and non-violent political engagement. Additionally, we observed the theoretically hypothesized three-way interaction in predicting violent political engagement. Specifically, the relationship between QFS and violent political engagement was stronger at higher levels of CB and NI. These findings underscore the significant impact of conspiracy beliefs on political engagement. Notably, within an ideologically homogeneous sample, the willingness to engage in violence was heightened at higher levels of personal significance and network influence, in line with the 3N model.