The impact of conspiracy belief on democratic culture: Evidence from Europe

The spread of conspiracy theories is expected to have an increasing impact on the vitality of Western democracies and their political culture. Drawing on a 2022 survey from 10 European countries (with n = 20,449), this study uses narratives about immigration and COVID-19 to examine their relation to individual democratic attitudes and preferred forms of political participation. Overall, the findings suggest that while conspiracy belief can generally be seen as a side effect of democratic backsliding and an amplifier for the erosion of a vibrant civic culture, its interplay with people’s political attitudes varies and is dependent on the specific context. On the other hand, conspiracy believers generally tend to identify more strongly with the region and country in which they live.