Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East: A Comparative Approach (linguae & litterae, 29)

Die Schriftenreihe __linguae & litterae__, herausgegeben von Peter Auer, Gesa von Essen und Werner Frick, dokumentiert die wissenschaftlichen Aktivitaten der __School of Language and Literature__ des __Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies__ (FRIAS) im Bereich einer theoretisch und methodisch avancierten, interdisziplinar geoffneten Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft. In der Linguistik liegt der Akzent auf der korpusbasierten, quantitativen und qualitativen Erforschung von Sprache, in der Literaturwissenschaft auf der komparatistisch-transdisziplinaren Analyse literarischer Phanomene in ihren kulturellen Kontexten. Zugleich nimmt die Reihe die produktiven Kontakt- und Synergiezonen zwischen moderner Linguistik und Literaturwissenschaft (und den mit ihnen im Austausch stehenden Geistes-, Sozial- und Naturwissenschaften) in den Blick und sucht nach neuen, fur die zeitgemae Reformulierung des humanwissenschaftlichen Forschungscurriculums richtungsweisenden Fragestellungen und Konzepten. Die internationale Ausrichtung der Reihe findet ihren Ausdruck in der konsequenten Mehrsprachigkeit der Bande, in denen deutsch-, englisch- und franzosischsprachige Beitrage, ggf. auch Artikel in italienischer und spanischer Sprache erscheinen. Jeder Einzelband wird im Rahmen eines peer-review-Verfahrens durch ein international besetztes Editorial Board begutachtet. Pro Jahr erscheinen 2-4 Bande. Introduction: Mapping Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East 11 I. The United States and the Middle East 43 My Enemies Must Be Friends: The American Extreme-Right, Conspiracy Theory, Islam, and the Middle East 45 From Mosaddeq to HAARP: Some Aspects of the Conspiratorial Component of U.S.-Iranian Relations 69 “Zionising” the Middle East: Rumours of the “Kissinger Plan” in Lebanon, 1973–1982 86 The Da Vinci Code, Crusade Conspiracies, and the Clash of Historiographies 110 II. The Politics of Conspiracy Theory 129 The Society of Death and Anglo-American Fears of Conspiracy in Gold Rush California, 1849–1858 131 The Function of Secrecy in Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories: The Case of Dönmes in Turkey 149 Hizbullah between Pan-Islamic Ideology and Domestic Politics: Conspiracy Theories as Medium for Political Mobilization and Integration 167 III. The Promises of Conspiracy Theory 187 Narrating the †̃Crisis of Representationâ€TM: The Cultural Work of Conspiracy in Larry Beinhartâ€TMs Novels on the Bush Presidencies 189 Small and Large Scale Conspiracy Theories and Their Problems: An Example from Turkey 204 “It Has All Been Planned”: Talking about Us and Powerful Others in Contemporary Syria 222 IV. Travelling Theories 239 The Transfer of Anti-Illuminati Conspiracy Theories to the United States in the Late Eighteenth Century 241 The Judeo-Masonic Conspiracy: The Path from the Cemetery of Prague to Arab Anti-Zionist Propaganda 261 Western Theories about Conspiracy Theories and the Middle Eastern Context: The Scope and Limits of Explanatory Transpositions 282 V. Theorizing Conspiracy Theory 301 The Politics of Conspiracy Theories: American Histories and Global Narratives 303 “What kind of man are you?”: The Gendered Foundations of U.S. Conspiracism and of Recent Conspiracy Theory Scholarship 321 Against the Cure 343 Plotting Future Directions in Conspiracy Theory Research 355 Bibliography 380 List of Contributors 384

Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East is the first book to approach conspiracy theorizing from a decidedly comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. Whereas previous studies have engaged with conspiracy theories within national frameworks only, this collection of essays draws attention to the fact that conspiracist visions are transnational narratives that travel between and connect different cultures. It focuses on the United States and the Middle East because these two regions of the world are entangled in manifold ways and conspiracy theories are currently extremely prominent in both.

The contributors to the volume are scholars of Middle Eastern Studies, Anthropology, History, Political Science, Cultural Studies, and American Studies, who approach the subject from a variety of different theories and methodologies. However, all of them share the fundamental assumption that conspiracy theories must not be dismissed out of hand or ridiculed. Usually wrong and frequently dangerous, they are nevertheless articulations of and distorted responses to needs and anxieties that must be taken seriously. Focusing on individual case studies and displaying a high sensitivity for local conditions and the cultural environment, the essays offer a nuanced image of the workings of conspiracy theories in the United States and the Middle East.

Conspiracy theories still are an integral part of most, if not all, societies. Conspiracy theories are also frequently articulations of and distorted responses to existing needs and anxieties. Thus, they must not be dismissed out of hand and ridiculed. The past twenty years have seen a reevaluation of conspiracist visions, their origins, and their cultural, social, and political functions, with the vast majority of studies examining various aspects of conspiracy theorizing in the United States or drawing on American examples when examining conspiracy theory in general. Yet, there have not been many inter- or transdisciplinary efforts to study conspiracy theories so far. Focusing on the United States and the Middle East, two regions where conspiracy theories have been prominent for a long time, Conspiracy Theories in the United States and the Middle East constitutes a step toward closing some of the gaps thus left. Its perspective is both comparative and interdisciplinary, as it concentrates on two different regions of the world that are nevertheless connected in manifold ways, and as it brings together scholars from various fields and disciplines "So far most scholars have studied conspiracy theories within national frameworks only. Focusing on the United States and the Middle East, two regions entangled in multiple ways, this book draws attention to the fact that conspiracist visions are transnational narratives that travel between and connect different cultures"--Provided by publisher Biographical note: Michael Butter, University of Freiburg, Germany; Maurus Reinkowski, University of Basel, Switzerland