An outside threat
Construct an external danger to the nation.
The three-step rhetorical model explained
Threat, betrayal, protection: Eirikur Bergmann’s Three-Step Rhetorical Model of Conspiratorial Populism, explained with its original 2024 citation.
Inside the research / 2024
Threat.
Betrayal.
Protection.
Three-Step Rhetorical Model
of Conspiratorial Populism
Betrayal within
Cast domestic elites as betraying the people or aiding that threat.
The protector
Present the leader as the defender of the “true people”.
01 / 03
An analytical model of political rhetoric, not an endorsement of these claims.
What does the model explain?
Eirikur Bergmann’s Three-Step Rhetorical Model of Conspiratorial Populism describes a recurring relationship between three political claims: the nation faces an outside threat, domestic elites have betrayed it, and a leader or movement offers protection. The model is presented in the 2024 chapter of the same name in Post-Truth Populism, edited by Saul Newman and Maximilian Conrad. It is a way of analysing rhetoric, not a claim that the alleged conspiracies are real. The three parts belong together: the promise of protection gains its meaning from the preceding construction of danger and betrayal.
1. Constructing an external threat
The first step identifies an allegedly threatening other. External does not necessarily mean physically outside the country. A narrative can place people or institutions outside the imagined authentic nation even when they operate within its borders. The analytical question is therefore who is described as belonging and who is excluded. An argument about a policy risk should not automatically be classified as conspiratorial: the evidence, the alleged hidden agency and the wider narrative must be examined.
2. Alleging betrayal within
The second step connects the alleged threat to domestic actors accused of assisting it. Political disagreement is recast as betrayal: opponents are said to have abandoned the people or colluded with their enemies. This link is important because it connects an account of danger with an explanation for why established institutions should not be trusted. The research concerns the accusation’s role in the narrative; it does not establish the guilt of those accused.
3. Claiming to protect the people
The third step presents the speaker, leader or movement as the defender who can confront both threats. Protection is offered against the alleged outside enemy and the supposedly compromised domestic elite. This completes the relationship between the three claims. In practical reading, it is useful to ask how the proposed protector describes political opponents and whether those opponents are allowed to remain legitimate participants in public debate.
Comparison and limits
The chapter compares Eurabia narratives in Europe, Deep State narratives in the United States and anti-Western narratives in Russia. The value of comparison is to identify a rhetorical relationship across different settings, not to claim that the settings are identical. Nor does the model imply that all populists use conspiracy theories, or that everyone who believes a conspiracy narrative is a populist. These distinctions are important when moving from a general framework to a particular speech, party or historical episode.
Using the guide responsibly
For academic writing, cite Bergmann’s chapter rather than this editorial explanation. Establish the date and context of the material being analysed, identify the claims in the source itself and distinguish your interpretation from the speaker’s words. The model supplies questions for analysis, not an automatic label or a psychological diagnosis. A defensible reading should also consider what evidence would challenge its interpretation. The interactive diagram above summarises the three relationships; it is an entry point to the argument, not a substitute for the chapter’s evidence.
Where to continue
The 2025 article The Strategic Exploitation of Conspiracy Theories by Populist Leaders extends the historical discussion. Neo-Nationalism provides the broader account of nativist populism, while Conspiracy & Populism and Weaponizing Conspiracy Theories develop the connection with political misinformation and strategic use. Their publication dates and formats are retained in the linked records so that the stages of the research can be followed without merging distinct works.
Original publications
- Three-Step Rhetorical Model of Conspiratorial Populism (2024) · Source
- The Strategic Exploitation of Conspiracy Theories by Populist Leaders (2025) · Source
- The Weaponization of Conspiracy Theories (2024) · Source
Books for further reading
- Weaponizing Conspiracy Theories (2025) · Publisher
- Neo-Nationalism (2020) · Publisher
- Conspiracy & Populism (2018) · Publisher