Smoothing the High Seas. A Deleuzoguattarian Analysis of the Somali Pirates

Abstract

The Somali pirates are met with scorn and have often been oversimplified in films such as Captain Phillips. Through the critical examination of factors that led to the rise of modern piracy while synthesizing historical understandings of piracy and State sovereignty with contemporary analyses, it is possible to draw a historical comparison between the pirates of the 17th century and piratical communities today. Via a Deleuzoguattarian framework new ways of understanding the existence of the pirates are provided. From this perspective the Somali pirates are examples of nomadic peoples operating war machinically against the State.

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Bibliographie: Heft, Peter: Smoothing the High Seas. A Deleuzoguattarian Analysis of the Somali Pirates, 360°, 2-2017, S. 29-39. https://doi.org/10.3224/360grad.v12i2.03