Explanations built around hidden agency
A conspiracy theory explains events through the concealed actions of a group said to be pursuing harmful ends. The research question is not simply whether people distrust authority. It concerns the form of the explanation, the evidence offered and the political uses of the story. Bergmann studies how such narratives intersect with populism and how political actors use them to define allies, opponents and threats.
From misinformation to strategy
Conspiracy & Populism connects conspiracy narratives with the politics of misinformation. Weaponizing Conspiracy Theories develops the question of political use. The distinction matters: a false claim is not necessarily a conspiracy theory, and studying the circulation of a story is different from demonstrating the intentions of everyone who repeats it. The relevant books and chapters offer the evidence and conceptual detail behind this overview.
Threat, betrayal and protection
The three-step rhetorical model brings together an alleged external threat, accusations against domestic elites and a leader’s claim to protect the people. The 2024 chapter compares narratives associated with Eurabia, the Deep State and anti-Western discourse in Russia. The 2025 Genealogy article places conspiratorial populism in a longer historical sequence of political and economic crises. These studies analyse the narratives rather than treating their allegations as established facts.
Research and public discussion
For scholarly use, follow the DOI links and cite the original publications. For an accessible discussion format, Skuggavaldið brings Eiríkur Bergmann and Hulda Þórisdóttir together in a podcast about conspiracy theories. A podcast episode and a scholarly article serve different purposes; listening links are therefore kept separate from academic citations. The research archive provides the broader bibliography and publication dates.
Original publications
- The Strategic Exploitation of Conspiracy Theories by Populist Leaders (2025) · Source
- Three-Step Rhetorical Model of Conspiratorial Populism (2024) · Source
- The Weaponization of Conspiracy Theories (2024) · Source
- Populism and the politics of misinformation (2020) · Source
Books for further reading
- Weaponizing Conspiracy Theories (2025) · Publisher
- Conspiracy & Populism (2018) · Publisher
- Conspiracy Theories and the Nordic Countries (2021) · Publisher
Related research
Skuggavaldið — public discussion with Eiríkur Bergmann and Hulda Þórisdóttir