A cabal is a group of people who are united in some close design, usually to promote their private views or interests in an ideology, a state, or another community, often by intrigue and usually without the knowledge of those who are outside their group. The use of this term usually carries negative connotations of political purpose, conspiracy and secrecy. [1] [2] It can also refer to a secret plot or a clique, or it may be used as a verb (to form a cabal or secretly conspire). [1] [3]
The term cabal is derived from Kabbalah (a word that has numerous spelling variations), the Jewish mystical interpretation of the Hebrew scripture (קַבָּלָה). In Hebrew, it means "received doctrine" or "tradition", [4] while in European culture (Christian Cabala, Hermetic Qabalah) it became associated with occult doctrine or a secret. [5]
It came into English via the French cabale from the medieval Latin cabbala, and was known early in the 17th century through usages linked to Charles II and Oliver Cromwell. By the middle of the 17th century, it had developed further to mean some intrigue entered into by a small group and also referred to the group of people so involved, i.e. a semi-secret political clique. [6]
There is a theory that the term took on its present meaning from a group of ministers formed in 1668 – the "Cabal ministry" of King Charles II of England. Members included Sir Thomas Clifford, Lord Arlington, the Duke of Buckingham, Lord Ashley and Lord Lauderdale, whose initial letters coincidentally spelled CABAL, [7] and who were the signatories of the public Treaty of Dover that allied England to France in a prospective war against the Netherlands, and served as a cover for the Secret Treaty of Dover. [8] The theory that the word originated as an acronym from the names of the group of ministers is a folk etymology, although the coincidence was noted at the time and could possibly have popularized its use. [9]
In Dutch, the word kabaal, also kabale or cabale, was used during the 18th century in the same way. The Friesche Kabaal (Frisian Cabal) denoted the Frisian pro-Orange nobility which supported the stadholderate, but also had great influence on stadtholders Willem IV and Willem V and their regents, and therefore on the matters of state in the Dutch Republic. [10] This influence came to an end when the major Frisian nobles at the court fell out of favor. The word nowadays has the meaning of noise, uproar, racket. [11] It was derived as such from French and mentioned for the first time in 1845. [12]
Followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory use "The Cabal" to refer to what is perceived as a secret worldwide elite organization who, according to proponents, wish to undermine democracy and freedom, and implement their own globalist agendas. [13]
Some anti-government movements in Australia, particularly those that emerged during Canberra's response to the pandemic, that Scott Morrison’s secret ministerial appointments were evidence of what they said was happening all along – a "secret cabal". [14]
The term is sometimes employed as an antisemitic dog whistle due to its evocation of centuries-old antisemitic tropes. [15] [16]
A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy, when other explanations are more probable. The term generally has a negative connotation, implying that the appeal of a conspiracy theory is based in prejudice, emotional conviction, or insufficient evidence. A conspiracy theory is distinct from a conspiracy; it refers to a hypothesized conspiracy with specific characteristics, including but not limited to opposition to the mainstream consensus among those who are qualified to evaluate its accuracy, such as scientists or historians.
Kabbalah or Qabalah is an esoteric method, discipline and school of thought in Jewish mysticism. It forms the foundation of mystical religious interpretations within Judaism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal.
The Zohar is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology. The Zohar contains discussions of the nature of God, the origin and structure of the universe, the nature of souls, redemption, the relationship of ego to darkness and "true self" to "the light of God".
In modern Hebrew and Yiddish, goy is a term for a gentile, a non-Jew. Through Yiddish, the word has been adopted into English also to mean "gentile", sometimes in a pejorative sense. As a word principally used by Jews to describe non-Jews, it is a term for the ethnic out-group.
The Zionist occupation government, Zionist occupational government or Zionist-occupied government (ZOG), sometimes also called the Jewish occupational government (JOG), is an antisemitic conspiracy theory claiming that Jews secretly control the governments of Western states. It is a contemporary variation on the centuries-old belief in an international Jewish conspiracy. According to believers, a secret Zionist organization actively controls international banks, and through them governments, to conspire against white, Christian, or Islamic interests.
Tartary or Tatary was a blanket term used in Western European literature and cartography for a vast part of Asia bounded by the Caspian Sea, the Ural Mountains, the Pacific Ocean, and the northern borders of China, India and Persia, at a time when this region was largely unknown to European geographers.
Stadsfries or Town Frisian is a set of dialects spoken in certain cities in the province of Friesland in the northern Netherlands, namely Leeuwarden, Sneek, Bolsward, Franeker, Dokkum, Harlingen, Stavoren, and to some extent in Heerenveen. For linguistic reasons, the outlying and insular dialects of Midsland (Terschelling), Ameland, Het Bildt, and Kollum are also sometimes tied to Stadsfries.
The New World Order (NWO) is a term used in several conspiracy theories which hypothesize a secretly emerging totalitarian world government. The common theme in conspiracy theories about a New World Order is that a secretive power elite with a globalist agenda is conspiring to eventually rule the world through an authoritarian one-world government—which will replace sovereign nation-states—and an all-encompassing propaganda whose ideology hails the establishment of the New World Order as the culmination of history's progress. Many influential historical and contemporary figures have therefore been alleged to be part of a cabal that operates through many front organizations to orchestrate significant political and financial events, ranging from causing systemic crises to pushing through controversial policies, at both national and international levels, as steps in an ongoing plot to achieve world domination.
Globalism has multiple meanings. In political science, it is used to describe "attempts to understand all of the interconnections of the modern world—and to highlight patterns that underlie them". While primarily associated with world-systems, it can be used to describe other global trends. The concept of globalism is also classically used to focus on ideologies of globalization instead of its processes ; in this sense, "globalism" is to globalization what "nationalism" is to nationality.
QAnon is a far-right American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals known as "Q". Those claims have been relayed and developed by online communities and influencers. Their core belief is that a cabal of Satanic, cannibalistic child molesters is operating a global child sex trafficking ring that conspired against president Donald Trump. QAnon has direct roots in Pizzagate, an Internet conspiracy theory that appeared one year earlier, but also incorporates elements of many different conspiracy theories and unifies them into a larger interconnected conspiracy theory. QAnon has been described as a cult.
Lurianic Kabbalah is a school of Kabbalah named after Isaac Luria (1534–1572), the Jewish rabbi who developed it. Lurianic Kabbalah gave a seminal new account of Kabbalistic thought that its followers synthesised with, and read into, the earlier Kabbalah of the Zohar that had disseminated in Medieval circles.
A clique, in the social sciences, is a small group of individuals who interact with one another and share similar interests rather than include others. Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied during adolescence and middle childhood development, they exist in all age groups. They are often bound together by shared social characteristics such as ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Examples of common or stereotypical adolescent cliques include athletes, nerds, and "outsiders".
According to an American political conspiracy theory, the deep state is a clandestine network of members of the federal government, working in conjunction with high-level financial and industrial entities and leaders, to exercise power alongside or within the elected United States government.
James Carl Marchant Jr. is an American politician, currently residing in Nevada. A member of the Republican Party, he represented the 37th district in the Nevada Assembly, covering parts of the northwestern Las Vegas Valley, from 2016 to 2018. A staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, Marchant was the Republican nominee for Nevada's 4th congressional district in 2020 and for Secretary of State of Nevada in 2022.
The Kalergi Plan, sometimes called the Coudenhove-Kalergi Conspiracy, is a debunked far-right, antisemitic, white genocide conspiracy theory. The theory claims that Austrian-Japanese politician Richard von Coudenhove-Kalergi, creator of the Paneuropean Union, concocted a plot to mix and replace white Europeans with other races via immigration. The conspiracy theory is most often associated with European groups and parties, but it has also spread to North American politics.
Conspiracy theories in United States politics are beliefs that a major political situation is the result of secretive collusion by powerful people striving to harm a rival group or undermine society in general.
QAnon Anonymous (QAA) is an investigative journalism podcast that analyzes and debunks conspiracy theories. It is co-hosted by Travis View, Julian Feeld, and Jake Rockatansky, alongside British correspondent: Annie Kelly, Canadian correspondent: Liv Agar. Inner Earth correspondent: Brad Abrahams, and QAA Legal Analyst: Allie Mezei.
Pastel QAnon is a collection of techniques and strategies that use "soft" and feminine aesthetics – most notably pastel colors – in order to attract women into the QAnon conspiracy theory, often using mainstream social media sites like Instagram, Facebook, Telegram and YouTube.
The international Jewish conspiracy or the world Jewish conspiracy has been described as "one of the most widespread and long-running conspiracy theories". Although it typically claims that a malevolent, usually global Jewish circle, referred to as International Jewry, conspires for world domination, the theory's content is extremely variable, which helps explain its wide distribution and long duration. It was popularized in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century especially by the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Among the beliefs that posit an international Jewish conspiracy are Jewish Bolshevism, Cultural Marxism, Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory, White genocide conspiracy theory and Holocaust denial. The Nazi leadership's belief in an international Jewish conspiracy that it blamed for starting World War II and controlling the Allied powers was key to their decision to launch the Final Solution, which culminated in the Holocaust.
Right wing antiglobalism is a political position which argues that globalization endangers national economies and identities, and promotes immigration. Right wing antiglobalism frequently uses the term Globalist as a pejorative, and in various conspiracy theories, notably linking with the New World Order conspiracy theory
a well-funded cabal of powerful people, ranging across industries and ideologies, working together behind the scenes to influence perceptions, change rules and laws, steer media coverage and control the flow of information.
At [QAnon's] core is the idea that all American presidents between John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump have been working with a cabal of globalist elites called "The Cabal" to undermine American democracy and forward their own nefarious agenda. ... In all versions of the mythos, the Cabal seeks to destroy American freedom and subjugate the nation to the wills of a world government.
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