Conspiracy theories introduce a democratic paradox, as belief in conspiracy theories predicts support for both democratic and non-democratic political systems. In this article, we explore whether democratic and anti-democratic attitudes, resulting from conspiracy beliefs, can be mutually exclusive. In Study 1 (United Kingdom, N = 293), we show that belief in conspiracy theories is associated with decreased support for representative democracy, and increased support for direct democracy, anarchism, and autocracy within the same individuals. In Study 2 (United States, N = 302, pre-registered), we experimentally show that the perceived presence of conspiracies is linked to an increased preference for direct democracy, anarchism, and autocracy and decreased support for representative democracy. Mediational analyses suggest that widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo and, less consistently, feelings of political cynicism mediate the relationships between conspiracy beliefs and (anti-)democratic attitudes. In Study 3 (United States, N = 400, pre-registered), we experimentally manipulate (dis)satisfaction with the status quo. Results indicate that rejecting the status quo increases support for direct democracy, anarchism, and autocracy and decreases support for representative democracy. Overall, our findings suggest that people who believe in conspiracy theories tend to favour both democratic and anti-democratic political alternatives, largely attributed to citizens' desire to change the status quo.

中文翻译：

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拒绝现状：阴谋论和对替代政治制度的偏好。


阴谋论引入了一个民主悖论，因为对阴谋论的信仰预示着对民主和非民主政治制度的支持。在本文中，我们探讨了由阴谋论信仰导致的民主和反民主态度是否可以相互排斥。在研究 1（英国，N = 293）中，我们表明，对阴谋论的信仰与对代议制民主的支持减少有关，而对同一个人内部对直接民主、无政府主义和专制的支持增加有关。在研究 2（美国，N = 302，预先注册）中，我们实验表明，感知到阴谋论的存在与对直接民主、无政府主义和专制的偏好增加以及对代议制民主的支持减少有关。中介分析表明，对现状的普遍不满以及不太一致的政治犬儒主义情绪调解了阴谋论信仰和（反）民主态度之间的关系。在研究 3（美国，N = 400，预先注册）中，我们实验性地操纵对现状的（不）满意。结果表明，拒绝现状会增加对直接民主、无政府主义和专制的支持，而减少对代议制民主的支持。总体而言，我们的研究结果表明，相信阴谋论的人倾向于支持民主和反民主的政治替代方案，这在很大程度上归因于公民希望改变现状。