GENERAL INTEREST

NEW

Conspiracy Theories QUASSIM CASSAM University of Warwick ‘Quassim Cassam has done the world a great service. This short book is not only a compelling read; it is also a much-needed weapon in the war against lies and in the battle for truth. Truth has taken a battering in recent years. Now, thanks to Cassam, the truth is hitting back.’ Jonathan Freedland, The Guardian ‘Quassim Cassam, one of the United Kingdom’s most important philosophers, has put his mind to answering this question: What are conspiracy theories, and why are they so problematic and yet so tempting? This is one of the key texts in the emerging field of propaganda studies.’ Jason Stanley, author of How Propaganda Works ‘This new book by one of philosophy’s clearest and most interesting writers argues for an idea that should be obvious (but isn’t): that conspiracy theories function as political propaganda, and that is what makes them so dangerous.’ Michael Patrick Lynch, author of The Internet of Us Even if there is plenty of evidence to disprove conspiracy theories, people persist in propagating them. Why? Philosopher Quassim Cassam explains how conspiracy theories are different from ordinary theories about conspiracies. He argues that conspiracy theories are forms of propaganda and their function is to promote a political agenda. Series: THINK 190 x 124mm • 144 pages • UK September 2019, US November 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3582-8 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3583-5 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available

Against Hate CAROLIN EMCKE Translated by Tony Crawford ‘With exemplary lucidity, passion and brevity, Carolin Emcke anatomizes a toxic political emotion – and the many insidious, even benign, forms it increasingly assumes in public life. Against Hate is an urgent and necessary book, and all those who seek a way out of our current impasse should read it.’ Pankaj Mishra ‘At a time when, all over the globe, groups have mobilized around hatred of strangers, foreigners, migrants and refugees, Emcke analyses with subtlety and psychological precision the hearts and minds of those who hate. A must-read book for our times.’ Seyla Benhabib, Yale University Racism, extremism, anti-democratic sentiment – our increasingly polarized world is dominated by a type of thinking that doubts others’ positions but never its own. In this powerful counter, Carolin Emcke, one of Germany’s leading intellectuals, argues that to safeguard democracy we must challenge hatred and fight for plurality in our societies. 216 x 138mm • 176 pages • 2019 HB • 978-1-5095-3195-0 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-3196-7 • £15.99 / $19.95 / €19.90 ebook available

NEW

The Nature of Conspiracy Theories MICHAEL BUTTER University of Tübingen Translated by Sharon Howe Conspiracy theories seem to be proliferating today. Long relegated to a niche existence, conspiracy theories are now pervasive, and older conspiracy theories have been joined by a constant stream of new ones – that the USA carried out the 9/11 attacks itself, that the Ukrainian crisis was orchestrated by NATO, that we are being secretly controlled by a New World Order that keeps us docile via chemtrails and vaccinations. Not to mention the moon landing that never happened. But what are conspiracy theories and why do people believe them? Have they always existed or are they something new, a feature of our modern world? In this book, Michael Butter provides a clear and comprehensive introduction to the nature and development of conspiracy theories. Contrary to popular belief, he shows that conspiracy theories are less popular and influential today than they were in the past. Up to the 1950s, the Western world regarded conspiracy theories as a legitimate form of knowledge and it was therefore normal to believe in them. It was only after the Second World War that this knowledge was delegitimized, causing conspiracy theories to be banished from public discourse and relegated to subcultures. The recent renaissance of conspiracy theories is linked to the internet which gives them wider exposure and contributes to the fragmentation of the public sphere. Conspiracy theories are still stigmatized today in many sections of mainstream culture but are being accepted once again as legitimate knowledge in others. It is the clash between these domains and their different conceptions of truth that is fuelling the current debate over conspiracy theories. 216 x 138mm • 210 pages • UK October 2020, US December 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4081-5 • £50.00 / $64.95 / €61.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4082-2 • £17.99 / $24.95 / €21.90 ebook available

NEW

When I Say Yes CAROLIN EMCKE Translated by Tony Crawford ‘Part manifesto, part memoir, When I Say Yes is a riveting book. In a prose that is sometimes poetry, sometimes analysis, it takes us to the heart of the experience of exclusion and violence, and shows with elegance and force how deeply abnormal our ordinary sense of normality is.’ Eva Illouz, University of Jerusalem How should we talk about desire, power and equality in the wake of the #MeToo debate? For Carolin Emcke, bestselling author and winner of the German Peace Prize, the debate demonstrates one thing above all: a conversation about abuse and sexuality has emerged that can no longer be stifled. 190 x 124mm • 112 pages • UK March 2020, US May 2020 HB • 978-1-5095-4087-7 • £35.00 / $45.00 / €42.90 PB • 978-1-5095-4088-4 • £9.99 / $12.95 / €12.90 ebook available

WWW.POLITYBOOKS.COM 4