People who buy into outrageous conspiracy theories — say, that no human has ever walked on the moon or the ancient pyramids were built by aliens — are more inclined to actively engage in anti-social behavior. ...
As such, the new study measured participants’ “belief in general notions of conspiracy” as well as how much they agreed with specific theories (“There was an official campaign by MI6 to assassinate Princess Diana”). Those inclined to believe the theories were “more accepting of everyday crime,” such as demanding a refund for no appropriate reason.
In addition, exposure to conspiracy theories was found to make people more apt to engage in low-level criminal activity.
But what about the reverse? Is this the explanation for the corruption (which is a form of criminality, of course) in Arab society where conspiracy theories run rampant and where corruption kills rule of law?
I've noted that Arabs who move to America manage to succeed here in contrast to their countries of origin that remain mired in poverty where there is no oil. If there is something to this cause and effect, the best weapon against jihadi recruitment that exploits the belief that the world is "out to get Islam" would be to help them build rule of law.
And it also means that online efforts to discourage young people from joining the jihad are largely wasted given their societies' ability to swamp the information war carried on by such online WebOps.
And for God's sake, don't think WebOps can replace LeadOps. I've long argued that the war on terror is essentially a holding action to protect the West from the collateral damage from the Islamic Civil War over who--the jihadis or the normal people who would rather not kill their way to a caliphate--gets to define what Islam is.
I have held since the Arab Spring that the movement at least expressed a desire to escape the trap of mullahs or autocrats (whose rule generates more support for jihadis) running their societies in the hope that democracy was the answer. I emphasized repeatedly that rule of law and not mere voting had to be built up for the movement to succeed. I still hope the seeds of such a future were planted in 2011.
And even if the current wave of jihad peters out--as it has in the past--as Moslems tire of the body count in their own countries, without a victory over the factors that generate jihadis there will be a future revival in a future where WMD are more readily available to sub-state actors or even to poorer states that are taken over (or created) by jihadis. We will still need to help fight for rule of law instead of sighing in relief and turning away from this war for the soul of Islam.
Reforming a corrupt-conspiracy society takes time.
