The Politics of Paranoia: paranoid positioning and conspiratorial narratives in the surveillance society

Abstract

The notion of paranoia is often implicitly reproduced in the work of surveillance researchers. However, in this article I will argue that this notion needs to be interrogated since current conceptions of paranoia are inherently dualistic: viewing paranoia solely at an individual or intra-psychic level; or, alternatively solely at a societal level. Inevitably, either perspective is limited. Here I will attempt to break down this dichotomy by, firstly, drawing on the notion of discursive positioning to: analyse the cultural discourses which "produce" paranoia; examine how subjects (i.e. individuals, communities, societies etc.) become positioned by others as paranoid; and explore the effects of such positioning. Secondly, I will investigate the discursive positions through which people may position themselves as paranoid and describe some of the effects of such positioning. I conclude by drawing out some implications of a more nuanced view of paranoia for the field of surveillance studies. Harry Wyckoff:He's probably just paranoid. Yeah, he loves a conspiracy. Paige Katz:Don't we all? (Wild Palms, dir. Oliver Stone, 1993) The paranoid is the person in possession of all the facts (William S. Burroughs) * I would like to thank Ian Parker for comments on an earlier version of this paper. I am grateful to a number of friends and colleagues who enthusiastically pointed out a wide range of source material. Miles Mandelson and the Psychology Service at Whiston Hospital provided time and the then Mersey Regional Health Authority provided funding for much of the research which forms the basis of this article. I would also like to thank two anonymous referees and the managing editor for their comments on an earlier draft of this paper.

‘How do the American people know…?’: embodying post-9/11 conspiracy discourse

“…It is clear then, that in order to begin to analyse the complexity of this post-9/11 manifestation of conspiratorial thought and its effects, we need to move beyond the term 'conspiracy theory' and a restrictive association with fringe and marginal subject positions, reinforced through both academic 9 and popular accounts (Harper 2008). Instead, I follow Birchall (2006) in conceptualising conspiracy as a 'knowledge-producing discourse'; that is a collection of statements, representations and practices which are drawn upon, articulated and performed across a range of subject positions and spatialities, 'elite' and 'popular', and within formal political institutions and everyday life, which promote a particular type of knowledge about the way the world functions.…”

The Social Context of Paranoia

“…One study reported that those with a diagnosis of delusions scored as highly on a measure of purpose and meaning in life as those training to be Anglican priests (Roberts, 1991). This suggests that these beliefs may actually give people a meaning in life even though, in the case of those who feel paranoid, the meaning may not be at all pleasant (Harper, 2008). This is, perhaps, not that surprising: if you are unemployed, poor and living alone on a frightening housing estate with little money to spend in occupying yourself, it may be functional to imagine you are Jesus, or are being followed by MI5.…”

“…When we use the notion of paranoia to diagnose others we may obscure the real causes of their distress, locating it instead in faulty brain mechanisms, rather than out there in a frequently hostile world. Likewise, when we experience paranoia we have the sense that we are the ones who know what is really going on in the world but paranoid ideas may simply mystify the causes of the real inequalities and victimisations we have experienced, transforming them into a dramatic personalised narrative (Harper, 2008).…”

Shared dilemmas, choice and autonomy in the management of psychosis: a phenomenological analysis

“…Psychological and sociological explorations of mental illness are available (Georgaca, 2013). Symptoms such as paranoia or delusions are found to be understandable as ordinary social phenomena which anyone might experience (Georgaca, 2004;Harper, 2008). However, the natural science notion of causality is employed in many research models, where a person's choices are thought of as influenced by biological, psychological or social factors.…”