Silje Anderdal Bakken

• Berger, Eirik Jerven & Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2025). A digital–physical continuum of illegal drug markets: Networks, trust, and culture. Acta Sociologica. ISSN 0001-6993. doi: 10.1177/00016993251356344. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Social relationships are a fundamental part of illegal drug markets. However, drug market categorizations, such as online/offline, open/closed, and public/private, overshadow the everyday purchase and sale of illegal drugs. Highlighting the significance of social relationships reveals the complexity and fluidity of real-life drug market activities. By using the economic sociological theory, we bridge the gap between online and offline drug market research by merging two datasets of qualitative interviews, focusing on Norway's physical and online drug markets. Combined the data consist of in-depth interviews with 100 market participants. We find that market relationships vary on a continuum between being fully digital to fully physical. Moreover, participants’ positions on this continuum are not fixed on one market category. Individuals’ participation is determined by several interconnected factors, including social networks, risk and trust, and drug and street culture. Hence, despite technological advancements and new possibilities, the purchase and sale of illegal drugs take place on a digital–physical continuum determined by social and relational factors.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2025). App-based textual interviews. I Kaufmann, Mareile & Lomell, Heidi Mork (Red.), De Gruyter Handbook of Digital Criminology. De Gruyter Brill. ISSN 9783111061931. s. 61–68. doi: 10.1515/9783111062037-007. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Interacting digitally can be of great benefit when researching sensitive topics and hard-to-reach populations. This chapter discusses the use of app-based textual interviews as a method well-suited for today’s criminology. Texting is a frequent communication method, while also providing an anonymous space and a flexible interview situation. However, new challenges and ethical considerations appear, such as interruptions from both online and offline events and the role of platform ownership. This is all discussed based on first-hand experience with interviewing illegal drug market participants on an encrypted app.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Kaufmann, Mareile (2025). The commercial dynamics of direct-to-consumer genome testing and law enforcement cooperation. New genetics and society (Print). ISSN 1463-6778. 44(1). doi: 10.1080/14636778.2025.2527030. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The commercial ecosystem of direct-to-consumer genome analyses (DTC) has begun to influence police investigations. As commercial services increasingly sell genomic information to law enforcement agencies this article investigates a key issue of this trend: what commercial dynamics tie DTC genome services and policing together, and how does that impact law enforcement? Based on netnographic empirical material the article makes several contributions. First, it describes general trends that characterize the cooperations between law enforcement and DTC genome services. Second, it gives an overview of data collected by the companies and distinct approaches to cooperation with law enforcement. Third, based on the above several developments are discussed that become more entrenched in law enforcement: the dynamics of data accumulation, sharing policies as marketing strategies, and the rise of genetic surveillance capitalism. In conclusion, the article emphasizes the need for more detailed regulation, societal education and scientific reflection.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Harder, Sidsel Kirstine (2024). Introduction to Special Issue: Bridging the Online–Offline Divide in Criminology. International Criminal Justice Review. ISSN 1057-5677. doi: 10.1177/10575677241248378. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2024). Online Drug Markets as a Visual Space. I Harder, Sidsel Kirstine & Bakken, Silje Anderdal (Red.), Visual Methods for Sensitive Images. Ethics and Reflexivity in Criminology On/Offline. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9783031753718. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Harder, Sidsel Kirstine (2023). From dealing to influencing: Online marketing of cannabis on Instagram. Crime, Media, Culture: An International Journal. ISSN 1741-6590. 19(1), s. 135–157. doi: 10.1177/17416590221081166. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2022). App-based textual interviews: interacting with younger generations in a digitalized social reality. International Journal of Social Research Methodology: Theory and Practice. ISSN 1364-5579. doi: 10.1080/13645579.2022.2087351. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Textual and visual app-based communication is standard everyday interaction. I argue that, as researchers, we have to be better equipped to include various ways of interacting digitally with participants in qualitative research interviews. In this paper, I do a methodological focused analysis of app-based textual interviews (n = 98) with young people selling illegal drugs online. I challenge the earlier skepticism towards interviewing through text, while also placing the interview in a new context of encrypted mobile phone applications. App-based textual interviews prove to be highly flexible and create a socially informal character of semi-structured interviews that interviewees perceive as safe. At the same time, the interviewer’s position is decentered as the interviewee takes full control of the interview context behind the screen. App-based textual interviews proved highly useful when interacting with a younger generation, also on a sensitive topic like illegal drugs. It also introduces several ethical dilemmas for discussion.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Oksanen, Atte & Demant, Jakob (2022). Capital in illegal online drug markets: How digital capital changes the cultural environment of drug dealing. Theoretical criminology. ISSN 1362-4806. doi: 10.1177/13624806221143365. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2021). Drug dealers gone digital: Using signalling theory to analyse criminal online personas and trust. Global crime. ISSN 1744-0572. 22(1), s. 51–73. doi: 10.1080/17440572.2020.1806826. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Online and digital platforms play a central role in today’s illegal activities and related networks. Communicating through these channels makes creating an online criminal identity crucial to establish oneself as trustworthy and meet the needs of potential buyers, especially when reaching out to strangers in a market. A highly needed skill is balancing the signals of attracting wanted attention and of avoiding possible risks. This article explores how social media drug dealers present themselves in 173 Facebook profiles. The analysis of these online criminal personas is applied in two stages: a) a broader content analysis of the profile content and b) by using signalling theory to understand the overall visual presentation of these online criminal personas. I find that sellers fall into three main persona types: the professional dealer, private dealer, and cultural dealer. These personas signal trust in different ways through their choice of pictures, text, and personal information.

• Demant, Jakob; Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Hall, Alexandra (2020). Social media markets for prescription drugs: Platforms as virtual mortars for drug types and dealers. Drugs and alcohol today. ISSN 1745-9265. 20(1), s. 36–49. doi: 10.1108/DAT-06-2019-0026. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Purpose Internet use has changed the mechanics of drug dealing. Although this has spurred some initial academic interest in how markets and their users have been changing, the issue is still under-researched. The purpose of this paper is to understand how the organisation of the distribution of prescription drugs and other illegal drugs overlap in these online markets by analysing data gathered from observation of the Swedish Facebook drug market and its participants. Design/methodology/approach Data were gathered during three months of digital ethnography conducted among Swedish Facebook posters supplemented by 25 interviews with sellers (20) and buyers (5). Screenshots and interview data were coded by carrying out an NVivo-based content analysis. The analysis is based on descriptive statistics of drug types, co-occurrence with other drugs, group size and the demographic characteristics of sellers. Additionally, the interviewees’ descriptions of the marketplace and their drug dealing or buying activities were included in the analysis. Findings In total, 57 Swedish Facebook groups that sold illegal substances were located. The groups rarely specialised in specific drug types, but were convened around demographic factors, such as specific cities and locales. The sales of prescription drugs were part of the overall activity of groups selling other illegal drugs, but they were more often sold in separate Facebook posts, possibly by specialist sellers. Swedish Facebook sales primarily concerned alprazolam, tramadol, pregabalin and clonazepam, and were sold by both professional and amateur sellers. Originality/value This study reports findings from a Nordic comparative study on social media drug dealing, representing the first in-depth study of digitally mediated prescription drug dealing outside of cryptomarkets.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Demant, Jakob (2019). Narkotikamarkeder på nett. En begrepsutvikling av digital kapital. Norsk sosiologisk tidsskrift. 3(3), s. 209–227. doi: 10.18261/issn.2535-2512-2019-03-04. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  En økende del av dagens narkotikahandel foregår på nett. Bruk av ulike nettbaserte plattformer har forenklet distribusjonen av narkotika og globalisert den helt ned på forbrukernivå. Handelen foregår blant annet på krypterte markeder på det mørke nettet, på åpne sosiale medier og gjennom meldingsapplikasjoner. Mange av kjennetegnene ved digitale markeder er gjenkjennelige i den tradisjonelle litteraturen på narkotikamarkeder, for eksempel kan bruken av meldingstjenester være en naturlig utvikling fra den tidligere bruken av SMS-er og personsøkere (May & Hough, 2004). Likevel er det flere sider ved de digitale markedene som fører til nye muligheter og utfordringer for markedsaktørene. I denne artikkelen utvikler vi «digital kapital» som et nytt begrep for å forstå verdiene og behovene til aktørene på digitale narkotikamarkeder. Begrepet diskuteres opp mot Sandberg og Pedersens (2006) begrep «gatekapital». Til forskjell fra gatekapital, kreves det høy innsikt i krypteringsverktøy og andre anonymiseringsmetoder for å unnslippe myndigheter. Selvpresentasjon tas vekk fra klær og utseende, og byttes ut med profilbilder og skriftlige fremstillinger av språk, både i egen profil eller produktannonse og ved deltagelse i diskusjoner. Åpenheten gjennom tilbakemeldingssystemer i de digitale markedene gjør det også nødvendig med god kundeservice fra selgerne og en kontinuerlig oppdatering av informasjon og rykter om andres erfaringer. Analysen baserer seg på 114 semistrukturerte intervjuer med både selgere og kjøpere på disse markedene, og flere hundre timer med digital etnografi i markedene og tilknyttede diskusjonsforum.

• Demant, Jakob; Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Oksanen, Atte & Gunnlaugsson, Helgi (2019). Drug dealing on Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram: A qualitative analysis of novel drug markets in the Nordic countries. Drug and Alcohol Review. ISSN 0959-5236. 38(4), s. 377–385. doi: 10.1111/dar.12932. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Introduction and Aims Internet use has changed drug dealing over the past decade owing to the emergence of darknet services. Yet, little is known about drug dealing in public online services. This study reports findings from a Nordic comparative study on social media drug dealing. It is the first in-depth study on the increase of digitally mediated drug dealing outside the cryptomarkets. Design and Methods A qualitative study using online ethnography and semi-structured interviews. One hundred and seven participants aged 16–45 years (mean age 23.1 years), with 83.2% being male, were interviewed. Data was coded in NVivo using general themes: modus operandi, trust and risk. Results Ethnographical data shows a high degree of drug-dealing activity on Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook Messenger. Buyers and sellers also use encrypted platforms, such as darknet forums and the Wickr app on their smartphones. The medium used varies across the countries, as well as motivations for usage in connection with risk perceptions. Discussion Despite national differences, social media is a common tool used in selling and buying illegal drugs. Availability affects the prevalence of use of various social media; however, prevalence is also crucial for which media is used. Many of the participants report easily drifting in and out of social media dealing and buying, without being aware of the seriousness of the offence. Conclusion Based on the differences in attachment to the seller career, we advise that policing strategies should be supplemented with—and even stand in the back of—prevention campaigns.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Demant, Jakob (2019). Sellers' risk perceptions in public and private social media drug markets. International journal of drug policy. ISSN 0955-3959. 73, s. 255–262. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2019.03.009. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Introduction From the early use of pagers and cellular phones to the darknet and smartphones, technological developments have facilitated drug deals in various ways, especially by altering time and space boundaries. Traditional drug market literature theorises about how physical markets, within which sellers act according to their risk perceptions and motivation, are led by supply, demand, and enforcement. However, there is an almost absolute research gap in understanding how this relates to digital markets and social media markets in particular. It is expected that the plasticity of technology makes digital markets highly mouldable so that the sellers are able to shape markets according to their use. Research aim The aim of the study is to describe and understand drug dealing on social media within the structure of existing markets. We aim to do so by analysing how drug sellers’ risk perceptions and motivations form and are formed by social media technology. Methods We conducted a three-month digital ethnographic study on Facebook and Instagram in the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden), as well as 107 semi-structured qualitative interviews with sellers (2/3 of the sample) and buyers (1/3 of the sample) using online markets within the same countries. Results Drug dealing on social media varies according to the structure of the chosen media and users’ risk perceptions and motivations. Two market forms are suggested: 1) public digital markets (e.g., Facebook groups and Instagram) allow sellers to expand their customer lists, but the risk is quite high, while 2) private digital markets are based on one-on-one communication and demand greater knowledge but are perceived as more secure. Sellers choose which media to use and how to use them based on perceived risk and, therefore, have a significant impact on the formation of social media drug markets.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Moeller, Kim & Sandberg, Sveinung (2018). Coordination problems in cryptomarkets: Changes in cooperation, competition and valuation. European Journal of Criminology. ISSN 1477-3708. 15(4), s. 442–460. doi: 10.1177/1477370817749177. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The new drug markets emerging on the dark net have reduced earlier drug market risk factors such as visibility and violence. This study uses economic sociology and transaction cost economics to broaden the present understanding of cryptomarkets. Results focus on three coordination problems characterizing illegal markets and how they are alleviated in cryptomarkets. More information and better visibility increase competition, the feedback system enforces cooperation and border control introduces a new cost influencing valuation. Cryptomarkets are formally structured and regulated by rules of conduct and centralized decisions. We argue that the online context circumvents earlier coordination problems in illegal markets, making dark net markets more structurally efficient compared with conventional drug markets.

• Munksgaard, Rasmus; Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Demant, Jakob (2017). Risk perception in emerging markets for illicit substances in Scandinavia: The effect of available information through online communities. I Kinnunen, Aarne (Red.), NSfK`s 59. Research Seminar: Migration and criminology. Scandinavian Research Council for Criminology. ISSN 9788276880465. s. 212–219. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Introduction: Along an increasing use and application of technological means in a variety of lawbreaking endeavors drug dealing has additionally taken to the Internet. Cryptomarkets operate as hidden sites on the “dark web”. Through sophisticated use of encryption- and anonymization technologies cryptomarkets manage to operate almost as publicly and accessible as open street markets exemplifying a whole new distributional mode wherein drugs are shipped in the mail between vendors and buyers who never meet physically. Despite the transnational design both buyers and vendors find themselves in local contexts of policing and risk. In this paper we present preliminary findings from a study of risk on cryptomarkets in a Scandinavian context. Methods: Starting from descriptive results derived from an analysis of data from the DATACRYPTO project we utilize nethnographic observations on cryptomarket related forums. Findings: While Norway tends toward a domestic market, Denmark tends towards being a global or regional actor. Through nethnographic and qualitative research we find that the Norwegian cryptomarket economy has established online convergence settings with active buyers and vendors, whereas no such thing exists in a Danish context. Discussion: The difference in information available to the Norwegian and Danish buyer may have explanatory power as to the state of the cryptomarket economy in these countries. The information available to buyers is likely to inform their decisions on whether to buy domestically or internationally, and thus the abundance of risk-aware discussion on Norwegian forums may explain the domestic nature of the markets. Conclusion: Although the project is still ongoing, we here conclude that the availability of nationally specific information changes how risk is perceived and acted upon by cryptomarket participants. Compared to Danish participants, Norwegians have great access to risk diminishing information from other peers to avoid international shipping, which likely is an explanation of the variations in domestic/international sales.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Sandøy, Thomas Anton & Sandberg, Sveinung (2017). Social identity and alcohol in young adolescence: the perceived difference between youthful and adult drinking. Journal of Youth Studies. ISSN 1367-6261. 20(10), s. 1380–1395. doi: 10.1080/13676261.2017.1333585. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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• Harder, Sidsel Kirstine & Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2024). Visual Methods for Sensitive Images. Ethics and Reflexivity in Criminology On/Offline. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9783031753718. 323 s. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2026). The Commercial Dynamics of Direct-to-consumer Genome Testing and Law Enforcement Cooperation. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2025). DNA-based avatars – commercially led bio-virtual self and future harms. doi: https:/www.jus.uio.no/ikrs/english/research/projects/digitaldna/events/program-biodata-surveillance-and-society.html. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Humans’ virtual existence is under constant development, leading to new challenges within criminology when understanding harm and crime. Recently, tech companies introduced another level of people’s self and physical body in the virtual world by using people’s DNA to create online digital twins or bodily reflections. In this paper I present the emerging phenomenon of DNA-based avatars and discuss future criminological queries of this messy entanglement of the human body and commercial logics and drive for technological innovation. Whether led by criminal actors and groups or commercial organizations, the possible harm done to virtual personas are currently leading to dilemmas that criminologists have started to discuss, such as virtual sexual crimes or ID thefts. But what happens when the virtual persona is based on DNA – people’s personal biological code? I turn to already established research in media studies and sociology on the avatars and virtual constructions of selves to understand the phenomenon of DNA-based avatars. This is then discussed in a criminological focus of potential harms happening towards and with the DNA-based virtual persona.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2025). Kalde saker inn i varmen: Nye DNA-metoder for politiet – hva betyr det i praksis? doi: https:/bioteknologiradet.no/arrangement/kalde-saker-inn-i-varmen-nye-dna-metoder-for-politiet-hva-betyr-det-i-praksis/. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  https://bioteknologiradet.no/arrangement/kalde-saker-inn-i-varmen-nye-dna-metoder-for-politiet-hva-betyr-det-i-praksis/

• Kaufmann, Mareile; Vestad, Maja; Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Daechsel, Stefano Mazzilli; Winge, Vilde Bergmann & Neuhaus, Elisabeth (2025). Conference: Biodata, Surveillance and Society. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  The conference 'Biodata, Surveillance and Society' will gather international scholars from the social sciences, law, humanities and the natural sciences who have an interest in exploring the landscape of biodata, surveillance and computation in a wide range of domains.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2024). DNA as forensic evidence and a commodity: The role of consumer genomics. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2024). DNA as forensic evidence and a commodity in the light of cultural criminology. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2024). Fra sprit til narkotika: Hundre år med illegale rusmarkeder i Norge. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Harder, Sidsel Kirstine & Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2024). Data Porn? Reflexivity in Visual Methods. I Harder, Sidsel Kirstine & Bakken, Silje Anderdal (Red.), Visual Methods for Sensitive Images. Ethics and Reflexivity in Criminology On/Offline. Palgrave Macmillan. ISSN 9783031753718. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2023). Moderering av panelet "Dark Web Rises". Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2023). The role of consumer genomics in DNA innovation. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Demant, Jakob; Bakken, Silje Anderdal; Harder, Sidsel Kirstine & Elmose, Kathrine (2019). FOCUS: Digital transgression and the changing nature of crime. Discover Society. DS69. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2018). Doing qualitative research in online drug markets: How to balance participant's anonymity and data reliability? Fulltekst i vitenarkiv
• Demant, Jakob & Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2019). Technology-facilitated drug dealing via social media in the Nordic countries. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Aims: Use of the internet has changed drug dealing over the past decade. While there is a growing understanding of the role of darknet drug markets, little is known about how drug dealing works on public online services such as social media. This study reports findings from a Nordic comparative study of social media drug dealing, which represents the first in-depth study of increasing levels of digitally mediated drug dealing outside cryptomarkets. Design and methods: A qualitative study using online ethnography and semi-structured interviews. Data were coded in NVivo by general themes: modus operandi, motivation, trust and risk. The qualitative study is supplemented with data analysis from the national Danish Youth Profile Survey of young people (13-25 years old) to establish the prevalence of online versus offline purchasing of drugs and to compare online and offline buyers. Results: Interview data consist of 107 buyers and sellers aged 16-45 (mean age 23.1 years), of whom 83.2 % were male. Ethnographic data (approximately 1 500 screenshots) show a high degree of drug-dealing activity on Facebook (113 observed groups) and Instagram (approximately 50 identified profiles), as well as on Snapchat and Facebook Messenger. Buyers and sellers also make use of encrypted platforms, such as darknet forums and the Wickr application. National data show a high volume of Facebook use in Denmark and Iceland, as well as in Sweden, where Instagram is also widely used. Norway had no discernible activity on Facebook, but rather used Snapchat and Wickr. Finland used encrypted channels such as Wickr and a national darknet forum. The Danish Youth Profile Survey results indicate that 36 % of young people buying drugs source them online. Discussion: Social media is a common tool used in the buying and selling of illicit drugs. National differences in the use of social media in drug trading across the five Nordic countries might be influenced by various factors such as cultural context and drug legislation. Our analysis indicates that social media markets may be entry-level markets for the youngest stratum of drug users. Social media markets are highly liable to fluctuation, so uncertainty prevails with regard to their future use. Further research is needed to address this issue, taking into consideration how rapidly change may occur

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal (2015). Silk Road 2.0 - A Study of Cryptomarkets in a Deleuze-Guattarian Perspective. Universitetet i Oslo. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv Vis sammendrag

  Over the last few years, Internet has been established as a place for drug markets to expand into a new reality and develop according to new business opportunities. Silk Road is one of many cryptomarkets that have succeeded online, offering a wide selection of drugs on global level. This thesis deals with the structural aspect of Silk Road and how it is organized, with theories of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari as a theoretical perspective to catch the complexity. Data has been collected through observations of Silk Road 2.0, the second edition of the Silk Road market concept. More than a thousand screen shots have been captured and hundreds of pages with forum conversations printed to give a complete understanding of the market structure. The online environment has made huge changes in the structure of drug markets, where new opportunities have been offered and restrictions created. As a facilitator of communication without hardly any spatial or timely limits, the Internet has become a place to establish connections around the world. Cryptomarkets are deriving advantages from this new context and have established themselves as a meeting point for entrepreneurs, consumers, and other people wanting drug related information. Markets such as Silk Road are offering an anonymous marketplace and forum where people can stay without being connected to their physical self. This might lead to a more socially equal market, but one cannot ignore existence of online restrictions and risks. The lack of face-to-face contact challenges Silk Road when it comes to trust and security – how can anything be secure when the participants are unidentifiable? Silk Road solves this insecurity by introducing a feedback system and encouraging social interaction to increase the trust level. Leaving feedback has left the consumers with a major power to affect the market; bad comments and rumors are hurtful for the vendors, who in return offer the buyers great customer service to avoid negative feedback. Silk Road s forum is also important because of how the vivid interaction leads to a closer community bond that heightens the level of trust. The closeness among the participants is also increased by similar motivations and goals, which steers the market in a specific direction following the participants lead. But it is still the administrator that enforces rules and delegates roles. Silk Road might seem as a free market, but after a closer look one discovers restrictions and formal boundaries. The restrictions, though, are not involuntarily enforced, but rather desired by the participants in order to keep the market more stable. Morally decisions such as banning the sale of weapons are taken collectively and forum hierarchies are revealing the level of experience – all to induce trust into the market. Additionally, formal rules are an attempt of creating order, which does increase the trust, but it also seems to leave the participants with a false security. Role divisions are not as formal as they might seem, especially since all the participants can interact in multiple activities crisscrossing their appointed tasks. This is where Deleuze and Guattari s rhizome theory becomes particularly useful. According to their theory, social structures are based on a multitude of connecting nodes and other unnatural attempts to create order. Silk Road s rules and role divisions are accepted as organizing elements in the market, but it is also important to look beyond them to see the chaos that really exists. Nothing is as simple as ordering structures such as binary opposites and hierarchical structures; they need to be placed in a larger rhizomatic structure to see the many connections. Also, this opens up for acceptance of elements from the general society as important influences on Silk Road s structure. Cryptomarkets would not exist without the development of networked technologies and constraints set by law enforcement agencies. Media also has an impact on creating the cryptomarket reality adding to the participants experience and influence on the market structure. Silk Road is also tightly connected to the physical world through drug supplies and postal services. The structure of Silk Road is a complex rhizome, where elements of hierarchical settings and role divisions are important for its totality. But so is also the interplay between different connections both inside and outside the online market. Silk Road is a place for entrepreneurs to enter a structured environment and act as a collective group, while still keeping their individuality. Therefore, the complex structure of Silk Road resembles a controlled entrepreneurial market, where chaos and multiplicity lingers under the seemingly formal structure.

• Bakken, Silje Anderdal & Bosnes, Hanne (2015). Narkotikamarkeder på det mørke nettet: En kvalitativ studie av Silk Road 2.0. Statens institutt for rusmiddelforskning. ISSN 9788271714369. Fulltekst i vitenarkiv

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