Creating Conspiracy Beliefs

Conspiracy theories spread more widely and faster than ever before. Fear and uncertainty prompt people to believe false narratives of danger and hidden plots, but are not sufficient without considering the role and ideological bias of the media. This timely book focuses on making sense of how and why some people respond to their fear of a threat by creating or believing conspiracy stories. It integrates insights from psychology, political science, communication, and information sciences to provide a complete overview and theory of how conspiracy beliefs manifest. Through this multi-disciplinary perspective, rigoros research develops and tests a practical, simple way to frame and understand conspiracy theories. The book supplies unprecedented amounts of new data from six empirical studies and unpicks the complexity of the process that leads to the empowerment of conspiracy beliefs.

Genesis of the concept of correctional punishment: From antiquity to modern times

The article examines the genesis of the idea of correctional punishment. The authors analyse the concepts and views on the purpose of punishing Plato, Roman lawyers, European humanists, as well as English prison reformers of the XVIII century. The relevance of this topic for domestic legal science is due to the ongoing transformation of approaches to determining the purpose of punishment, the revision of strategies in the field of punishments in foreign penology and the development of correctional policy, taking into account new goals. The era of correctional punishment, admittedly, was the XIX century. The basis of penitentiary discourse during this period was the belief that with the help of a proper prison regime, segregation, humane treatment and spiritual care, it would certainly be possible to correct convicts. Although the ideas of correctional punishment appear in ancient times and acquire their practical implementation in the medieval Christian tradition of European states, the idea of the primacy of English and American prison reformers in the establishment of penitentiary systems prevails in historiography. An unbiased analysis of knowledge systems and the rejection of the methodology of ideological bias allowed proving that the penitentiary systems of the XIX century only developed the models of prison discipline that began in previous periods. In fact, there was a revival of the ancient paternalistic concept of correctional punishment, supplemented by a religious doctrine that provided for the influence not on the body, but on the soul of the offender to repent, correct and, as a result, return to society. At the end of the XVIII century, the secular authorities adopted these disciplinary models. They will be most widely implemented in correctional and penitentiary houses in England during the prison reform of the 70s and 90s and will later become the basis for the formation of penitentiary systems that will be implemented in practice in most countries of the world during the XIX-early XX centuries

Science funding under an authoritarian regime: Portugal's National Education Board and the European ‘academic landscape’ in the interwar period

This article enables an understanding of scientific practice and funding in a peripheral country ruled by a dictatorship in the interwar period, and thus provides the basis for comparison with studies of other non-democratic regimes. We examine the work of Portugal's Junta de Educação Nacional (National Education Board), which administered and provided funding for science from 1929 to 1936. Our findings show that this public body encouraged the participation of the Portuguese academic community in international science networks. This scenario contrasts with the dominant historiographical thesis that between the wars the Portuguese academic community did not play a role in international networks, and that it lacked state support. Also in contrast with the dominant historiography, whose ideological bias meant that a simplified picture was portrayed, whereas the reality is shown to be complex, this study demonstrates that the Portuguese dictatorial state sought to foster scientific progress through the Junta, but that resentment among academics and the resistance of universities to innovation meant that this objective was only partially achieved. Finally, the memory of a number of scientists has been rescued from oblivion, as we show how their political stance during the dictatorship led to their being ignored by historiographers when democracy prevailed.

Primul mythos de stânga al literaturii române contemporane

Mihai Iovănel’s History of Contemporary Romanian Literature: 1990-2020 is the first leftist major narrative of Romanian literature – and the shockwaves it generated were due even more to this firm ideological option (the first such one in the history of major Romanian literary histories) than to its literary content proper. The present article aims at asserting the main three accomplishments and shortcomings generated by this ideological option – namely that: i) it succeeds in coalescing the first coherent narrative of the last three decades of Romanian literature; ii) it sometimes turns from an ideological option into an ideological bias – and modifies the factuality of Romanian literature, eliminating important writers, exaggerating the qualities of some other ones, searching to distribute merits (to leftist writers) and punishments (to right-wing ones) according with their political option, and not with their literary qualifications; iii) it is an impressive stylistic achievement in itself, even though quite ironically its author disregards the virtues of aestheticism.

Reinforcing Criticisms of Civil Resistance: A Response to Onken, Shemia-Goeke, and Martin

This article reinforces the criticisms I cast on civil resistance literature in my study “Debunking the Myths Behind Nonviolent Civil Resistance” through addressing issues on how scholars code violence, unarmed violence, and nonviolence. It justifies studying unarmed violence as a sole category and explicates the pathways through which unarmed violence can lead oppositional campaigns toward success. In responding to Onken, Shemia-Goeke, and Martin, the article demonstrates that the dichotomization of nonviolence and violence is not premised on analytical equivalency and should be avoided if the study of resistance strategies is to progress onward and step away from the literature's intrinsic ideological bias. There is nothing idealistic about seeking to improve how we operationalize concepts to study resistance strategies, but if scholars in the civil resistance literature fail to move away from universalistic assumptions about nonviolence and social change, they will continue to misinterpret historical processes and produce policy suggestions that are neo-colonial in nature.

O Herói Mujahid e o Recrutamento: A Violência Como Meio de Mobilização l The Mujahid Hero and Recruitment: The Violence As an Instrument of Mobilization

A partir do século XXI, grupos extremistas ganharam força ao propor o realinhamento radical entre estruturas de governança e comunidades imaginadas. Para isso, reinventam narrativas e criam personificações de antagonismo e heroísmo. Embates ontológicos são reforçados de maneira a formar e unir comunidades através da bravura e da violência. A noção de heroísmo nas Relações Internacionais foi aplicada nas narrativas do Estado Islâmico presentes na revista Rumiyah, destinada aos anglofalantes. Notou-se o uso do heroísmo como maneira de angariar apoiadores através de duas características: a violência e o autossacrifício. Assim, essas especificidades, aliadas a um viés ideológico, recrutam pessoas dispostas a imitarem os “heróis” dessa organização, conhecidos como mujahidin.Palavras-Chave: Jihadismo; Estado Islâmico; Heroísmo e Violência.ABSTRACTSince the beginning of the 21st century, extremist groups gained relevance by proposing a radical realignment between governance structures and imagined communities. In that case, they reinvent narratives and create personifications of antagonism and heroism. Ontological clashes are reinforced in order to form and unite communities through bravery and violence. The notion of heroism in International Relations was applied in the narratives of the Islamic State present in the magazine Rumiyah, addressed to english speakers. The use of heroism was noted as a way of attracting supporters through two characteristics: violence and self-sacrifice. Thus, these specificities, combined with an ideological bias, do recruit people willing to imitate the “heroes” of this organization, known as mujahidin.Keywords: Jihadism; Islamic State; Heroism and Violence. Recebido em: 04/04/2021 | Aceito em: 09/06/2021.