Abby Dunn successfully defends her MA thesis

We are proud to announce that Abby Dunn has successfully defended her MA thesis, “The Role of Narratives in Conspiracy Theories: A Narrative Exploration of the Great Replacement Theory.”

Abby’s work analyzes thousands of comments from a far-right forum to explore what narratives and themes characterize “the Great Replacement theory” and examine how these narratives can make violence seem appealing, justified, or necessary.

Abstract

In recent years, the Great Replacement theory (GRT), a far-right conspiracy theory claiming the purposeful replacement of White populations by non-White people, has gained attention online, inspiring extremist worldviews and acts of violence. While its political and ideological roots have been studied in detail, less is known about how online narratives surrounding the GRT make violence seem justified. Using a narrative criminological approach, this thesis examines 2,000 comments from the far-right forum Stormfront to explore: (1) What narrative themes and storylines characterize the Great Replacement theory in online comments, and (2) How these narratives frame violent action as appealing, justified, or necessary. The study employs a thematic narrative analysis and identifies six dominant narratives: Jewish elites and liberal governments as the main orchestrators of the replacement; the threat of non-White immigration; media institutions as Jewish propaganda tools; the White birthrate decline; the awakening of the White race; and violent action as a necessary and inevitable response. A structural narrative analysis further examines genre, characters, metaphors, and symbolic boundaries to show how narrative mechanisms position violence as appealing, justified, or necessary. The findings show how online narratives emotionally and morally shape consumers, sustain extremism and legitimize violence, highlighting the value of narrative criminology for analyzing online content and conspiracy theories.

Congratulations, Abby! We can’t wait to see what’s next in your academic journey.