The dark side of social movements: Social identity, non-conformity, and the lure of conspiracy theories

Social change does not always equal social progress--there is a dark side of social movements. We discuss conspiracy theory beliefs –beliefs that a powerful group of people are secretly working towards a malicious goal–as one contributor to destructive social movements. Research has linked conspiracy theory beliefs to anti-democratic attitudes, prejudice and non-normative political behavior. We propose a framework to understand the motivational processes behind conspiracy theories and associated social identities and collective action. We argue that conspiracy theories comprise at least two components – content and qualities— that appeal to people differently based on their motivations. Social identity motives draw people foremost to contents of conspiracy theories while uniqueness motives draw people to qualities of conspiracy theories

Trade and Security Cooperation in the Arab Maghreb Union Region

This chapter examines the nature of trade and security links among the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) countries, Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. Since the beginning of the Arab Spring in late 2010, this region has undergone significant political and economic changes, among them, facing new forms of terrorism and violent religious fundamentalism