Cultural Sociology 1–17 © The Author(s) 2016 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/1749975516661959 cus.sagepub.com ‘I Am Not a Conspiracy Theorist’: Relational Identifications in the Dutch Conspiracy Milieu Jaron Harambam Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands Stef Aupers University of Leuven, Belgium Abstract Despite their popularity and normalization, the public image of conspiracy theory remains morally tainted. Academics contribute by conceiving of conspiracy theorists as a coherent collective: internal variety is sacrificed for a clear external demarcation. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork in the Netherlands, we explore variation in the conspiracy milieu through people’s own self-understanding. More particularly, we study how these people identify with and distinguish themselves from others. The analysis shows that they actively resist their stigmatization as ‘conspiracy theorists’ by distinguishing themselves from the mainstream as ‘critical freethinkers’. The trope ‘I am not a conspiracy theorist’ is used to reclaim rationality by labelling others within the conspiracy milieu the ‘real’ conspiracy theorists. Secondly, their ideas of self and other make three groups apparent: ‘activists’, ‘retreaters’ and ‘mediators’. Conspiracy culture, we conclude, is not one monolithic whole, but rather a network of different groups of people, identifying with different worldviews, beliefs, and practices. Keywords identification, conspiracy, conspiracy theories, conspiracy theorists, labelling, categorization, stigma, stigmatization, conspiracy culture, resistance, identity Introduction Conspiracy theories have a long history – they have flourished at least since the Crusades in the Middle Ages (Pipes, 1997). In contemporary Western society they are widespread Corresponding author: Jaron Harambam, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, Rotterdam, 3000 DR, Netherlands. Email: harambam@fsw.eur.nl / jaron.harambam@gmail.com 661959CUS 0 0 10.1177/1749975516661959Cultural SociologyHarambam and Aupers research-article 2016 Article by guest on October 23, 2016 cus.sagepub.com Downloaded from