ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book presents the research done in social psychology, the most vibrant of the disciplines that contribute to conspiracy theory studies. It discusses the social, cultural and political factors that fuel conspiracy theorising and the effects of conspiracy theories on society and politics. The book examines the focus from content to form and from causes and consequences to circulation and distribution. It also presents a more explicitly comparative approach, to consider how conspiracy theories fulfil different functions in variety of historical moments and regional contexts. The Loose Change films, for example, consciously set themselves in opposition to the official version of events, a characteristic that some accounts consider to be another defining feature of conspiracy theories. Conspiracy theories on both sides of the Atlantic accused enemies from outside, from a combination of the two, of plotting against the state and those in power.
