PACT: Populism and Conspiracy Theory

Populists are governing in many countries – and even where they are not (yet) officially in power, they have grown stronger and shape the political agenda.

Conspiracy theories have also significantly gained in visibility and impact over the past twenty years, and they have been playing a major role in the debates about populism. The two phenomena are obviously connected. However, their exact connection remained unexplored for a rather long time. Funded by a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council, the PACT project, which ran from April 2020 to September 2025, aimed to fill this research gap. Through a variety of case studies and more general theoretical considerations, it has provided a robust account of the relationship between populism and conspiracy theory.