AdhÃ©sion aux ThÃ©ories Conspirationnistes et Soutien aux Politiques RÃ©pressives Ã Lâ€™Ã©gard des LibertÃ©s Politiques en Contexte de DÃ©mocratie Autoritaire : Le Cas du Cameroun
Authors: Adolphe Messanga Gustave , Pamela Fotso Magne , Willy Taffo Nemboue 
Published: October 2020

La prÃ©sente recherche sâ€™inscrit dans la logique des travaux analysant les facteurs explicatifs du soutien des individus Ã la rÃ©pression (Besley & Persson, 2012 ; Garcia-Ponce & Pasquale, 2013). Plus spÃ©cifiquement, elle sâ€™intÃ©resse au soutien accordÃ© par les citoyens aux politiques rÃ©pressives Ã lâ€™Ã©gard des libertÃ©s politiques en contexte de dÃ©mocratie autoritaire. Son apport thÃ©orique consiste en la proposition de lâ€™adhÃ©sion aux thÃ©ories conspirationnistes comme variable explicative de ce phÃ©nomÃ¨ne. Dans cette veine, elle prÃ©dit que les individus qui adhÃ©rent auxdites thÃ©ories sont plus susceptibles de soutenir les politiques rÃ©pressives Ã lâ€™Ã©gard des libertÃ©s politiques que ceux qui nâ€™y adhÃ©rent pas. La mise Ã lâ€™Ã©preuve de cette prÃ©diction sâ€™est faite grÃ¢ce Ã la participation de 338 Ã©tudiants, dont lâ€™Ã¢ge se situe entre 18 et 51 ans (Ã¢ge moyen = 34,5 ans). Les donnÃ©es ont Ã©tÃ© collectÃ©es grÃ¢ce Ã une adaptation de la French Version of Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (Brotherton et al., 2013) et Ã lâ€™Ã©chelle du soutien aux politiques rÃ©pressives Ã lâ€™Ã©gard des libertÃ©s politiques, construite pour les besoins de la prÃ©sente recherche. Ã€ ces deux instruments, on a associÃ© une sÃ©rie dâ€™Ã©chelles permettant dâ€™Ã©valuer des construits servant de mesure de contrÃ´le. En procÃ©dant Ã une distinction catÃ©gorielle sur la base des scores obtenus, on constate que les participants qui adhÃ¨rent aux thÃ©ories conspirationnistes (M = 30,34 ; Ã‰-T = 6,15) soutiennent davantage les politiques rÃ©pressives Ã lâ€™Ã©gard des libertÃ©s politiques que ceux qui nâ€™y adhÃ¨rent pas (M = 26,50 ; Ã‰-T = 7,94). Ces observations apportent un soutien empirique Ã lâ€™hypothÃ¨se Ã©mise (Î² =.416, t = 11,07 ; P < .05). Les mesures de contrÃ´le associÃ©es permettent de constater que les individus qui : ont un penchant pour lâ€™autoritarisme dâ€™extrÃªme droite, croient en un monde juste, ont une orientation de la dominance sociale forte, et ont une vision compÃ©titive du monde soutiennent davantage les politiques rÃ©pressives que ceux qui nâ€™adhÃ¨rent pas Ã ces idÃ©ologies.
The present research is in line with the work analyzing factors explaining individualsâ€™ support for repression (Besley & Persson, 2012; Garcia-Ponce & Pasquale, 2013). More specifically, it is interested in the support given by citizens to repressive policies towards political freedoms in the context of authoritarian democracy. Its theoretical contribution consists in the proposition of adherence to conspiracy theories as an explanatory variable of this phenomenon. In this vein, it predicts that individuals who adhere to such theories are more likely to support repressive policies on political freedoms than those who do not. This prediction was put to the test thanks to the participation of 338 students, aged between 18 and 51 (mean age = 34.5 years). Data were collected through an adaptation of the French Version of Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (Brotherton et al., 2013) and the support for repressive policies towards political freedoms, constructed for the purpose of the present research. These two instruments have been associated with a series ofscales allowing the evaluation of constructsserving as control measures. By making a categorical distinction on the basis of the scores obtained, it is observed that, participants who adhere to conspiracy theories (M = 30.34; S.D = 6.15) support more repressive policies towards political freedoms than those who do not adhere to it (M = 26.50; SD = 7.94). These observations provide empirical support for the hypothesis of the study (Î² = .416, t = 11.07; P <.05). The associated control measures show that individuals who : are incline to right-wing authoritarianism, believe in a just world, have a high social dominance orientation, and have a competitive worldview are more supportive of repressive policies than those who do not adhere to these ideologies.