ABSTRACT
Conspiracy theories are generally studied as beliefs or narratives, but they are also acts of speech, and their pragmatics and dramatics are often neglected. If we do not take them into account, we will not be able to explain conspiracy theories’ power effects or their appeal. This chapter tries to do that by reexamining the concept of parrhesia introduced by Michel Foucault, which is conceived as a diagram of the discursive revolutions of the weak as weak, in the sense of Deleuze, and associated with the Foucauldian concepts of discursive practice, discipline, subjugated knowledge, race war, techniques of the self, truth, and spirituality. Parrhesia is rearticulated in parallel with the concept of performatives developed by John Austin, the concept of passionate utterance proposed by Stanley Cavell, the concept of seduction formulated by Jean Baudrillard, the concept of truth defined by Alain Badiou, and the concept of pastoral power introduced by Nikolas Rose. The argument is substantiated by analyses of conspiracy theories in the context of the Indian anti-corruption movement, Bulgarian anti-corruption and anti-GMO protests, self-diagnosis of depression, the gluten-free lifestyle, and the proclamation of universal sexual emancipation and responsibilization by the prophet of the alien creators, Rael.
