Dr Alenka Zupančič:
Power as a Conspiracy Theory

The dynamics and social role of conspiracy theories have undergone an interesting shift. Once flourishing primarily as a subcultural phenomenon on the margins of society, where they generated narratives of corruption, manipulation, and hidden mechanisms of power, conspiracy theories have increasingly been appropriated by political actors who already wield considerable authority and influence. Power presents itself as a dangerous subculture that, even while occupying positions of political dominance, continues to struggle against some other, “true” power; it builds its legitimacy on the notion that it is itself the victim of hidden forces. The lecture will explore the ways in which conspiracy theories today function as an internal mechanism of power itself. At the same time, it will critically examine the limits and impotence of the standard liberal response, which assumes that such practices can be exposed, countered, and discredited simply by recognising them and labelling them “conspiracy theories”. The lecture will also raise the question of what social reality is inscribed in the very form of conspiracy theory. 


Dr Alenka Zupančič is a philosopher and social theorist, employed as a senior researcher at the Institute of Philosophy of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. As a visiting professor, she regularly lectures at the European Graduate School in Switzerland and at universities around the world. She has gained international recognition for her work at the intersection of philosophy and psychoanalysis and has published numerous scholarly articles and several influential books. Her latest book, Disavowal (2024), explores, among other themes, the logic and political dynamics of conspiracy theories.