Deleuze and Guattari’s concept of smooth space appears in A Thousand Plateaus as part of their broader exploration of space, movement, and the organization of social, political, and aesthetic phenomena. Smooth space is contrasted with striated space, and these two terms form a conceptual pair that helps them describe different ways of structuring and experiencing the world. Below is an explanation of smooth space and its implications:
1. Smooth Space vs. Striated Space
• Striated space: Structured, hierarchical, gridded, and organized according to fixed points, measurements, or divisions. It is the space of states, institutions, and systems of control. Examples include a city grid, an office building, or agricultural fields.
• Smooth space: Open, fluid, continuous, and defined by movement rather than fixed boundaries. It is a space of becoming, where trajectories and flows dominate over points and boundaries. Examples include the open sea, deserts, or the nomadic paths.
2. Characteristics of Smooth Space
• Dynamic and Directional: Smooth space is traversed by movement rather than being organized by static points. It is directional rather than metric, defined by pathways and intensities rather than coordinates.
• Nomadic Logic: Smooth space is associated with the nomad, who moves fluidly across space without being tied to fixed structures. The nomad doesn’t “own” space but occupies it temporarily and adapts to its flows.
• Heterogeneity: Unlike the uniformity of striated space, smooth space is heterogeneous and constantly changing.
• Continuous Variation: Smooth space is not divided into discrete units but involves continuous variation, like the shifting dunes of a desert or the flowing surface of a sea.
3. Examples of Smooth Space
• Geography: The open desert, the sea, the steppe, or the tundra—all spaces that resist division into fixed units.
• Art: Abstract art or music, which emphasizes fluidity, experimentation, and the breaking of traditional boundaries.
• Social and Political Movements: Guerrilla warfare, protests, or decentralized networks that operate outside the hierarchical structures of striated space.
4. Smooth Space and Striated Space as Coexistence
Deleuze and Guattari emphasize that smooth and striated spaces are not mutually exclusive but interpenetrate and coexist. For example:
• A smooth space can become striated, as when a desert is divided into national borders or a sea is mapped for trade routes.
• Conversely, a striated space can become smooth, as when a city is taken over by unpredictable flows like protests, festivals, or nomadic wanderings.
5. Smooth Space as Resistance
Smooth space often represents a site of resistance to control and hierarchy:
• It is where traditional boundaries and structures break down, making room for new possibilities.
• Nomadic movements in smooth space disrupt the striated space of states and empires, offering alternative ways of organizing life and thought.
6. Philosophical Implications
• Ontological: Smooth space represents a mode of being that emphasizes fluidity, openness, and becoming rather than fixed identities or forms.
• Epistemological: It challenges the fixed, segmented ways of knowing that dominate striated space, favoring an exploratory and experimental approach.
• Political: Smooth space embodies the potential for decentralization, non-hierarchical organization, and resistance to authoritarian control.
Summary
Smooth space, for Deleuze and Guattari, is a conceptual way of understanding spaces of movement, flow, and openness. It is opposed to striated space, which is organized, controlled, and segmented. However, the two coexist and interact in complex ways. Smooth space serves as a metaphor for resistance, creativity, and the potential to reimagine life, art, and politics beyond rigid structures and boundaries.
