Conspiracy theories characterise views in and about Europe
3 May 2021
Conspiratorial narratives of internal disintegration and external threats affect views in the European Union and Europe to an increasing extent. Our trust in society is put to the test in crises such as COVID-19 when various groups are singled out as the villains. In extreme cases, this can inspire acts of terror.
Researchers from Uppsala University are among those demonstrating this in the new book Europe: Continent of Conspiracies. Conspiracy Theories in and about Europe.

Uppsala University
“For example, we can see how the refugee crisis in 2015–2016 led to a polarising climate of debate. Migration was portrayed as a conscious attempt to obliterate nation states and European identity. Such ideas still circulate in the press and social media and are used by populist political forces,” says Andreas Önnerfors, associate professor at the Department of History at Uppsala University. He and opinion researcher André Krouwel of VU Amsterdam (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) edited the book.
The volume is a result of the European Comparative Analysis of Conspiracy Theories COMPACT research project, which took place from 2016 to 2020. Fifteen authors – including political scientists, media researchers, social psychologists and historians – address the subject in 13 chapters.
Quantitative opinion studies encompassing viewpoints from a large number of people throughout Europe are one of the scientific methods used. The book also includes analyses of media reporting, textual interpretation of terrorist manifestos and investigations into how conspiracy theories have been used to mobilise voter support. The researchers have also taken into account results from several previous studies.
Exploit people’s need for easy answers
They found a clear correlation between people sceptical about European cooperation and conspiracy theory thinking. In the shadow of rising immigration, particularly in the context of the 2015 refugee crisis, populists managed to exploit people’s need for easy answers to complex problems and to single out culprits for the negative developments, the researchers write.
One chapter analyses the British press in the context of the Brexit referendum. It shows how blame placed on the EU and xenophobia interacted. Other examples of how conspiracy theories have flourished include the Greek debt crisis, which revived anti-German narratives and the myth that the EU is really a continuation of the Third Reich. Some conspiratorial movements also deny the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany which led to attempts to storm the German Reichstag in Berlin during the 2020 demonstrations against the coronavirus.
Has inspired acts of terror
The researchers assert that radicalisation driven by conspiracy theories has inspired acts of terror in some cases, such as on two separate occasions in Germany. In 2019 a right-wing extremist opened fire on a synagogue, and in 2020 another person with racist motives murdered 10 people in an attack on several hookah cafes.
Andreas Önnerfors deals with this in his chapter examining how the racist and xenophobic conspiracy theory about ‘the great replacement’ may have motivated these two acts of terror. French right-wing extremist writer Renaud Camus (1946–) developed this conspiracy theory, arguing that migration to Europe needs to be regarded as a bio-political weapon. He asserts that European elites have allied themselves with the invading masses to extinguish the soul and essence of the Continent.
“I have analysed the German translations and popularisations of Renaud Camus’s texts. My interpretation is that they have underpinned and legitimised the acts of terror in Germany in 2019 and 2020. Both perpetrators left their own terrorist manifestos behind. These are deeply influenced by anti-Semitic and Islamophobic conspiracy theories that can be directly linked to Renaud Camus’s ideas,” Önnerfors says.
Contradictory duality
One conclusion the researchers draw is that there is a contradictory duality in the conspiratorial worldview of Europe and the EU. On the one hand, it portrays Europe and its political unity as a powerful threat that conspires against the diversity and individuality of nation states. On the other hand, it describes Europe as a feeble and dying force too weak to defend itself against the plots created by various external enemies.
“Our book is the first to treat an entire continent as the subject of conspiracy theory thinking. We see the risks that these narratives might undermine Europe’s political culture and lead to a greater fragmentation of society,” says Önnerfors.
Read more:
The book: Andreas Önnerfors, André Krouwel (2021). Europe: Continent of Conspiracies. Conspiracy Theories in and about Europe. Routledge, April 30, 2021, 282 Pages, ISBN: 9780367500689.
More about Comparative Analysis of Conspiracy Theories, COMPACT: www.conspiracytheories.eu
News
-
“Most people can relate to music”
20 juni 2023
Mattias Lundberg’s area of research is liturgical music from the Renaissance. However, as a professor of musicology, he is used to covering the history of music in its entirety, and in recent years he has done precisely this in radio broadcasts fr...
-
Music Professor Mattias Lundberg receives Royal Medal
06 juni 2023
Mattias Lundberg is familiar from several series on Sveriges Radio’s channel P2, most recently “Fråga musikprofessorn” (“Ask the Music Professor”). Now he is being awarded a royal medal. “I’m pleased that musicology and the humanities are receivi...
-
“The public is generally poorly informed”
29 mars 2023
Hello May-Britt Öhman, researcher at the Centre for Multidisciplinary Studies on Racism and expert contributor to the Government's Committee on Reindeer Lands.What is the purpose of this inquiry?
-
From living heritage to zombie churches
22 mars 2023
Churches are preserved by an antiquarian system that risks killing them instead of keeping them alive. The Swedish State and the Church of Sweden therefore need to define new joint visions and goals to enable the ecclesiastical cultural heritage t...
-
Democracy researchers to participate in literature festival
22 mars 2023
War, crime and literature as a path to reconciliation is the theme of the Uppsala International Literature Festival on March 23–25. One of the organisers is the Democracy and Higher Education research programme at Uppsala University. Christina Kul...
-
ERC grant for research into Swedish slavery
03 februari 2023
Fredrik Thomasson, researcher at the Department of History at Uppsala University, has received the ERC Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). This grant relates to a project on Swedish colonial history on the island of Saint ...
-
The names given to the clouds, an important part of the university's history
04 januari 2023
The book “Molnspanare– en meteorologisk historia” (Cloud spotters – a meteorological history) tells of the emergence of meteorology as a scientific subject. Among other things, you can read about how the Latin names and classification of the cloud...
-
The history of Easter Island can teach us about sustainability
08 december 2022
Tourism has exploded on Easter Island over the last twenty years – something that has led to both financial gain and major encroachments on the island's environment. Researchers from Uppsala are now studying how history can teach us to build a mo...
-
Nobel Prize-winning literature often published by small publishing houses
05 december 2022
During the Christmas trade period, books written by the latest Nobel Prize laureate tend to sell at least as well as the more traditional bestsellers. It is very important for publishers to have Nobel Prize winners on their lists, according to res...
-
Conference: 30 years of EU citizenship
21 november 2022
This year marks 30 years since European Union citizenship came into being. It will be highlighted at an international, interdisciplinary conference in Uppsala on 22–23 November. Both researchers and all those interested are welcome to attend.
-
New honorary doctors in the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences
03 november 2022
The faculties at Uppsala University have decided on the award of honorary doctorates for 2022. Among the new honorary doctors at faculties in the Disciplinary Domain of Humanities and Social Sciences are researchers in economic geography, family l...
-
The vulnerability of surrogate mothers in a global market
17 oktober 2022
A new dissertation on surrogacy highlights Thai women's experiences of having acted as surrogate mothers. The dissertation shows the women's vulnerability in a global surrogacy industry, but also provides a more nuanced picture of what makes women...
-
Historical discoveries as Linnaeus Garden is excavated
07 oktober 2022
Unique pots, eighteenth-century porcelain and the bones of countless fish and birds: archaeologists who have been excavating part of the Linnaeus Garden have come across a wealth of exciting objects that can tell us more about the people and anima...
-
Popular 18th-century medicine in a new form
05 september 2022
Hello to Nils-Otto Ahnfelt, PhD pharmacist and visiting researcher at the Department of Pharmaceutical Biosciences. Together with the historian of science Hjalmar Fors, you have developed a reconstruction of the 300-year-old medicine Hjärnes Testa...
-
Torgny Segerstedt Medal and Geijer Prize winners announced
05 september 2022
This year’s Torgny Segerstedt Medal has been awarded to Mikael Stenmark, professor in philosophy of religion at the Department of Theology. The Geijer Prize goes to Viktor Persarvet and Astrid Wendel-Hansen.
-
Digging from the present down to antiquity
30 augusti 2022
Welcome to the Viking Age! The archaeology students, with their trowels and their scrapers, have dug past the medieval layers and made their way down to the 11th century, approximately 30 centimetres below today's ground level. During the seminar ...
-
The sheep – Gotland’s symbol of sustainability
14 juni 2022
Sheep are the strongest symbol of sustainability on Gotland, according to Gurbet Peker. Not only do real ones graze all over the island, you can even find sheep sculpted in concrete in Visby. Peker researches the day-to-day lives of lamb farmers i...
-
Can democracy solve the climate crisis?
13 juni 2022
Hello Linda Wedlin, organisor and moderator of a panel discussion during Almedalen Week with the theme ‘What knowledge and what kind of democracy is needed for a successful climate transition?’ What are you going to be discussing?
-
Mapping people of the past by means of their bones
09 maj 2022
What is the best way to find out about a human being or animal that has been dead for perhaps several centuries? “Study the bones” is what Sabine Sten, professor of osteoarchaeology, would say. They can reveal an individual's age, body length, DNA...
-
Transforming space and society in Kiruna
24 mars 2022
State and corporate ideas about nature, people and the future played a decisive role in the development of Kiruna as a mining town over a century ago. Since 2004, when 6,000 Kiruna residents were informed that they would have to move because of gr...