Linking Conspiracy Beliefs with Violence: A Scoping Review of the Empirical Literature

Abstract

Since the global COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rapid growth in the study of conspiracy beliefs and their potential link with violence. This study contributes to the literature by systematically consolidating quantitative studies published between 2000 and 2023 that focus on individual-level analysis to examine the extent to which conspiracy theories are associated with violence justifying norms, values, intentions and actions. Electronic databases were searched for relevant publications and charted using the PRISMA flow diagram. After exclusion of ineligible documents, 25 publications were identified for analysis. Results show diverse epistemological approaches and conceptualisation of violence. Hence, violence was categorised as either general, political or extremist in nature. Researchers primarily employed cross-sectional survey data analysing attitudinal measures of violence, with these studies revealing only a weak association between conspiracy theory beliefs and violent attitudes. Analysis of actual violent behaviour was extremely limited and has thus far been confined to extremist offender data. This review outlines further research needed to determine if violence directly stems from conspiracy beliefs, and whether this relationship is conditioned by other risk factors. This review has important implications for understanding the consequences of conspiracy beliefs, and future risk assessment and management of violent extremism.