Piracy & Social Change| You Are Not Welcome Among Us: Pirates and the State

Authors

  • Jessica L. Beyer Research Scientist, Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies, Technology and Social Change Group, Information School, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
  • Fenwick McKelvey Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Keywords:

pirates, information politics, intellectual property, state networks

Abstract

In a historical review focused on digital piracy, we explore the relationship between hacker politics and the state. We distinguish between two core aspects of piracy—the challenge to property rights and the challenge to state power—and argue that digital piracy should be considered more broadly as a challenge to the authority of the state. We trace generations of peer-to-peer networking, showing that digital piracy is a key component in the development of a political platform that advocates for a set of ideals grounded in collaborative culture, nonhierarchical organization, and a reliance on the network. We assert that this politics expresses itself in a philosophy that was formed together with the development of the state-evading forms of communication that perpetuate unmanageable networks.

Author Biographies

Jessica L. Beyer, Research Scientist, Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies, Technology and Social Change Group, Information School, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Research Scientist, Henry M. Jackson School for International Studies, Technology and Social Change Group, Information School, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

Fenwick McKelvey, Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Studies, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

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Published

2015-03-26

Issue

Vol. 9 (2015)

Section

Special Sections

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