For other uses, see Conspiracy (disambiguation). Not to be confused with conspiracy theories.
Illustration of the conspirators in the Gunpowder Plot, a secret plan devised in 1605 to blow up the Parliament of England

A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between people (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder, treason, or corruption, especially with political motivation,[1] while keeping their agreement secret from the public or from other people affected by it. In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of people united in the goal of usurping, altering or overthrowing an established political power. Depending on the circumstances, a conspiracy may also be a crime, or a civil wrong.[2] The term generally connotes, or implies, wrongdoing or illegality on the part of the conspirators, as it is commonly believed that people would not need to conspire to engage in activities that were lawful and ethical, or to which no one would object.[3][4]

There are some coordinated activities that people engage in with secrecy that are not generally thought of as conspiracies. For example, intelligence agencies such as the American CIA and the British MI6 necessarily make plans in secret to spy on suspected enemies of their respective countries and the general populace of its home countries, but this kind of activity is generally not considered to be a conspiracy so long as their goal is to fulfill their official functions, and not something like improperly enriching themselves.[5] Similarly, the coaches of competing sports teams routinely meet behind closed doors to plan game strategies and specific plays designed to defeat their opponents, but this activity is not considered a conspiracy because this is considered a legitimate part of the sport. Furthermore, a conspiracy must be engaged in knowingly. The continuation of social traditions that work to the advantage of certain groups and to the disadvantage of certain other groups, though possibly unethical, is not a conspiracy if participants in the practice are not carrying it forward for the purpose of perpetuating this advantage.[5]

On the other hand, if the intent of carrying out a conspiracy exists, then there is a conspiracy even if the details are never agreed to aloud by the participants.[5] CIA covert operations, for instance, are by their very nature hard to prove definitively, but research into the agency's work, as well as revelations by former CIA employees, has suggested several cases where the agency tried to influence events.[6] During the Cold War, the United States tried to covertly change other nations' governments 66 times, succeeding in 26 cases.[7]

A "conspiracy theory" is a belief that a conspiracy has actually been decisive in producing a political event of which the theorists strongly disapprove.[8] Political scientist Michael Barkun has described conspiracy theories as relying on the view that the universe is governed by design, and embody three principles: nothing happens by accident, nothing is as it seems, and everything is connected.[9] Another common feature is that conspiracy theories evolve to incorporate whatever evidence exists against them, so that they become, as Barkun writes, a closed system that is unfalsifiable, and therefore "a matter of faith rather than proof."[10][11][12]

Etymology

Conspiracy comes from the Latin word conspiratio. While conspiratio can mean "plot" or "conspiracy", it can also be translated as "unity" and "agreement", in the context of a group.[13] Conspiratio comes from conspiro which, while still meaning "conspiracy" in the modern sense, also means "I sing in unison", as con- means "with" or "together", and spiro means "I breathe", literally meaning "I breathe together with others".

Types of conspiracies

  • Conspiracy (civil), an agreement between people to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their legal rights or to gain an unfair advantage.
  • Conspiracy (criminal), an agreement between people to break the law in the future, in some cases having committed an act to further that agreement.
  • Conspiracy (political), an agreement between people with the goal of gaining political power or meeting a political objective.
  • Hub-and-spoke conspiracy, a conspiracy in which one or more principal conspirators (the "hub") enter into several similar agreements with others (the "spokes") who know concerted action is contemplated, usually where the success of the concerted action depends on the participation of the other spokes.

References

  1. ↑ Collins Dictionary: conspiracy
  2. ↑ "Conspiracy". merriam-webster.com. Retrieved December 27, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Conspiracy Definition & Meaning".
  4. ↑ "Conspiracy".
  5. 1 2 3 Peter Knight, Conspiracy Theories in American History: An Encyclopedia (2003), p. 15-16.
  6. ↑ Four more ways the CIA has meddled in Africa. BBC, 17 May 2016.
  7. ↑ The U.S. tried to change other countries' governments 72 times during the Cold War. By Lindsey A. O'Rourke. The Washington Post, December 23, 2016
  8. ↑ Joseph E. Uscinski and Joseph M. Parent, American Conspiracy Theories (2014) excerpt
  9. ↑ Barkun, Michael (2003). A Culture of Conspiracy: Apocalyptic Visions in Contemporary America. Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 3–4.
  10. ↑ Barkun 2003, p. 7.
  11. ↑ Barkun, Michael (2011). Chasing Phantoms: Reality, Imagination, and Homeland Security Since 9/11. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. p. 10. ISBN 9780807834701.
  12. ↑ Mapped: The 7 Governments the U.S. Has Overthrown. Yes, we now have confirmation that the CIA was behind Iran's 1953 coup. But the agency hardly stopped there. By J. Dana Stuster. Foreign Policy, August 20, 2013.
  13. ↑ "Conspiratio". ONLINE LATIN DICTIONARY. Olivetti Media Communication. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
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