Mark Fenster's study of conspiracy theories is now updated for the post-9/11 era. Fenster argues that conspiracy theories play an important part in US democracy, and that examining how and why they circulate through mass culture helps us better understand society as a whole
Introduction : the transparent state we want but can't have -- Liberating the family jewels : "free" information and "open" government in the post-war legal imaginary -- Supplementing the transparency fix : innovations in the wake of law's inadequacies -- Transparency's limits : balancing the open and secret state -- The uncontrollable state -- The impossible archive of government information -- Disclosure's effects? -- The implausibility of information control -- The disappointments of megaleaks -- Conclusion : the West Wing, the West Wing, and abandoning the informational fix