Conspiracies and visions of conspiracies in France and Italy after the Second World War

Author: Girard, Pascal

Source: European Review of History, Volume 15, Number 6, December 2008 , pp. 749-765(17)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

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Abstract:

The existing literature concerning conspiracy and conspiracy theories is particularly huge, especially if considering political and social sciences. However, many works revealed some weaknesses, such as the importance of assumptions and generalisations in political sciences studies or the neglected/exaggerated role of conspiracy in many historical works. So, it appeared that new political history could bring a significant and lightning contribution, taking into account the various dimensions and the complexity of the topic as well as the role of the context. The proposal of the paper, based on the empirical study of postwar Italy and France, could be summed up in three points. The first would be to consider the political nature of conspiracy and conspiracy theory, and to narrow the scope of the study to well-defined political groups. The second, not to take for granted pre-existing interpretations and narratives on this topic. The last, to pay major attention to the complex interactions of the representations, events, propaganda and political cultures.

Keywords: political history; political violence; conspiracy; conspiracy theories; France; Italy

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13507480802500707

Affiliations: 1: European University Institute, Florence, Italy

Publication date: 2008-12-01

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