English abstracts #86:

Kasper Grotle Rasmussen: Endgame: Alex Jones’ New World Order as conspiracy theory and alternative truth

This article examines the creation of an alternative reality in the conspiracy documentary Endgame (2007) with special emphasis on the use of history. The narrative is constructed using conspiracy theories, especially the New World Order that claims that a global power elite for centuries has subjugated the rest of the population and now plans to enslave them. This narrative should be read in relation to American conspiracy culture as well as important writings on the New World Order through time, and as a right-wing model of explanation for a complex world, as well as the fear of its demise.  

Keywords: Conspiracy theory, Alex Jones, New World Order, uses of history, Endgame.

Thorbjørn Nordbø: Anti-Machiavel: The book that could not make up its mind

This article treats the various editions of Frederick the Great’s (and Voltaire’s) book Anti-Machiavel in the 18th century. The text under attack, The Prince of Machiavelli, was printed in Anti-Machiavel as well, together with other paratexts that argue the case of one of the parties. Machiavelli’s view is, in the majority of editions, presented in such a way that it remains unclear which of the two texts that is privileged. This article looks at the history of Anti-Machiavel, as well as book history in general, to give an answer to why the 18th century editions are printed in such a way that the book qua book (in most cases), gives no final answer to which of the authors are right. It concludes that it is precisely the tension in Anti-Machiavel – both the fact that it contains two diametrically contradictory texts, and the paratexts that contradict each other – had a commercial value for the printers, and an intellectual value for the readers in the Enlightenment. The inherent tension between the two texts seems to be the actual aim of the parallel editions.

Keywords: Book history, paratexts, reception-history, Machiavelli, Voltaire, Frederick the Great.

Martin Aasbø Ringdal: The lie’s inner truth: “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, esoteric truth and strategies for truth-production amongst Norwegian antisemites (1920-1945)

“The Protocols of the Elders of Zion” was first published in Norway in 1920. It was quickly embraced by Norwegian antisemites as evidence of a grand Judeo-Masonic conspiracy. However, in 1921 it was exposed as a forgery, and thus it became harder to argue for its epistemic credibility through empirical and rational arguments. Still, a small group of devoted antisemites kept defending the Protocols’ relevance by applying esoteric arguments for its intrinsic truthfulness, claiming they contained an “inner truth”. Not only did they argue for an esoteric interpretation of the Protocols’ esoteric truths, they also advocated for a vast amount of other alternative views on reality. The article explores how the Protocols’ appearance and exposure partook in truth-production within a Norwegian antisemitic discourse. It further suggests that conspiratorial antisemitism, as the Protocols is the leading exponent of, should be studied in relation to other forms of alternative ideation – where the pursuit for truth usually becomes esoteric.

Keywords: Conspiracy theories, conspiracism, antisemitism, Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Norway.

Rikke Alberg Peters: The right to have a pure body – the historical roots of the anti-vaccination movement in England 1853-1898

Vaccine hesitancy is not a new phenomenon but can be traced back to the 18th century when vaccination was inscribed in a narrative of progress proclaiming the victory of medicine over infectious diseases. Opponents were dismissed as irrational skeptics.

The article explores the anti-vaccination movement that emerged in England from 1853 to 1898, in response to the Compulsory Vaccination Act. Based on Quentin Skinner’s method of textual reconstruction and his analysis of the modern concept of freedom, three texts written by the period’s leading vaccine skeptics are analyzed.

The case shows that the resistance is not only based on an irrational rejection of vaccination but is part of a larger political struggle to define the limits of the state’s power and the right to maintain a ‘natural’ view of the body. For the three vaccine opponents, the medical and the political arguments against vaccination merge into the idea that the state should intervene as little as possible in both the physical and the social body. However, the analysis also shows that the political arguments can be mixed with misinformation and conspiracy theories that play on fear and anger. A trend that can also be seen in the current anti-vaccination movement.

Keywords: Vaccination, vaccine hesitancy, alternative medicine, freedom of citizens, conspiracy theories.

Astri Dankertsen: Decolonization of academia from a Sámi perspective

In this article, I will discuss what decolonization looks like from a Sámi perspective. The need for research from a Sámi perspective and the recruitment of Sámi researchers have been important issues in Sámi research since the 1970s. At the same time, concepts such as decolonization and indigenous peoples’ perspectives are relatively new in the Sámi research context. In the article, I will discuss what decolonization looks like from a Sámi research perspective, what kind of view of knowledge it is based on, and how it is expressed in various research works. I will take as my starting point some selected Sámi theorists and institutions, and discuss how these express a form of scientific criticism that can be related to what is often called decolonization of academia. I argue, inspired by Adam Gaudry and Danielle Lorenz, that decolonization can be seen as part of a process in which indigenous researchers and indigenous perspectives are gradually included as part of academic practice, where decolonization can be said to be the ultimate goal.

Keywords: Decolonization, colonialism, Sámi, research, Indigenous people.

Rithma Kreie Engelbreth Larsen: Indigenous, traditional, and local knowledge: New horizons in science policies

In the last few years of climate policy, we have witnessed an increased inclusion of Indigenous people’s knowledge(s) in addition to more established climate sciences. But during most of history, Indigenous peoples were denied epistemic agency. This article turns towards the years around 1980 when we see that concepts like ‘Indigenous Knowledge(s)’ and ‘Traditional Ecological Knowledge’ are explicitly brought into the academic conversation concerned with a renegotiation of their legitimacy. I argue that we find in these core source materials the contours of an epistemic expansion: two key publications from development anthropology from 1979 and 1980, as well as the digital archives of UNESCO from 1975-1985. We find in these materials a conversation that gestures towards a pluralization of legitimate ways to obtain knowledge. However, taking into account the research of Arturo Escobar on the colonial responsibilities of development anthropologists as well as Perrin Selcer’s research on the relation of climate science to local perspectives, relevant doubts are raised as to how big of a room is actually made in practice for Indigenous people’s knowledge(s). 

Keywords: Local knowledge, Indigenous knowledge, development anthropology, decoloniality, climate science.