Piracy, property and the crisis of democracy

Abstract

A political battle is being waged over the use and control of culture and information. While copyright organisations and most established media companies argue for stricter intellectual property laws, a growing body of citizens, and parts of the new media industry, challenge the contemporary IP-regime. This has resulted in a political mobilisation of piracy. This mobilisation is most evident in the formation of pirate parties, which see themselves as a digital civil rights movement, defending the public domain and the citizen’s right to privacy against copyright expansionism and increased surveillance. Since the first pirate party was formed in Sweden in 2006, similar parties have emerged across the world. This article draws on a study of the culture and ideology of copyright resistance, through a series of interviews with representatives of pirate parties in Europe and North America. It focuses on democracy and citizenship in the context of pirate politics. In particular, this article examines challenges to democracy, and the distinction between public and private property and spaces, in the wake of the war on terror and the global financial crisis.