Abstract
In this book’s journey through the colorful world of people’s suspicions I
have called attention to overlaps between conspiracy theories and sorcery
beliefs. Though some studies refer to both, they do not explicitly compare
and contrast them (e.g., Farmer 1992). Academic analysts have rarely
looked simultaneously at conspiracy theories and sorcery arguments that
were generated within the same social setting. These scholars may have assumed that conspiracy theories and sorcery beliefs are fundamentally distinct. Indeed, their relationship is usually described by dichotomous oppositions, e.g., Western vs. non-Western, modern vs. traditional, rational
vs. magical (Sanders and West 2003:6-7). However, in the Zimbabwean
case study I saw both types of explanatory models simultaneously, which
allowed me to compare and contrast them within a single setting.