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Conspiracy and foreign policy

Aistrope, Tim, Bleiker, Roland (2018) Conspiracy and foreign policy. Security Dialogue, Security Dialogue, 49 (3). pp. 165-182. ISSN 0967-0106. (doi:10.1177/0967010617748305) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:72574)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided. (Contact us about this Publication)
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1177/0967010617748305

Abstract

Conspiracies play a significant role in world politics. States often engage in covert operations. They plot in secret, with and against each other. At the same time, conspiracies are often associated with irrational thinking and delusion. We address this puzzle and highlight the need to see conspiracies as more than just empirical phenomena. We argue that claims about conspiracies should be seen as narratives that are intrinsically linked to power relations and the production of foreign policy knowledge. We illustrate the links between conspiracies, legitimacy and power by examining multiple conspiracies associated with 9/11 and the War on Terror. Two trends are visible. On the one hand, US officials identified a range of conspiracies and presented them as legitimate and rational, even though some, such as the alleged covert development of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, are now widely considered false. On the other hand, conspiracies circulating in the Arab-Muslim world were dismissed as irrational and pathological, even though some, like those concerned with the covert operation of US power in the Middle East, were based on credible concerns.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/0967010617748305
Uncontrolled keywords: Conspiracy, Conspiracy theory, Security, International Relations, War on Terror
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Politics and International Relations
Depositing User: Timothy Aistrope
Date Deposited: 19 Feb 2019 11:30 UTC
Last Modified: 04 Mar 2024 18:49 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/72574 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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