War machines and gang nomadism:

territories and daily lives in the drug field and in the Psychosocial Care Network

Authors

  • Leandro Roque da Silva Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte
  • Ana Karenina de Melo Arraes Amorim The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2447-9837.2025.n20.73213

Abstract

The field of drugs is made up of an extensive set of practices, discourses and legislation that guide legal and institutional guidelines, often permeated by the ethnic and ideological prejudices. This study discusses part of the results of a doctoral research carried out in the Brazilian Northeast, from 2020 to 2023, with the aim of monitoring everyday situations that reveal resistance practices in the context of vulnerability of people who consume drugs and attend a Psychosocial Care Center (CAPS AD III). To this end, we used ethnography as a methodological approach, recording the daily lives of participants through field diaries and in-depth interviews. Data analysis considered two main moments: the “ethnographic wanderings” and the “flip-flop conversations”, held at CAPS AD III and its surroundings. The research was based on the concepts of “war machines” (Deleuze and Guattari, 1997) and “everyday life” (Certeau, 1996; Certeau, Giard e Mayol, 1996), to dialogue with the contexts experienced. The results highlight the importance of understanding the participants’ ways of life as clues for the production of psychosocial care, highlighting the creation of resistance practices, such as intervals of desire and freedom, as opposed to the imperatives of normalization. The research contributes to the reflection on psychosocial care, highlighting the value of participants’ experiences in the construction of alternatives that promote rebellions and fissures in the face of precariousness and vulnerability.

KEYWORDS: Drugs. Ethnography. Everyday life. Resistance practices.

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Author Biographies

Leandro Roque da Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Psychologist, Master in Social Policy from the Department of Social Work at the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), with a degree in Psychology from UFPB. PhD in Psychology from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte. He is currently a lecturer at the Centro Universitário de Educação Superior da Paraíba UNIESP PB.

Ana Karenina de Melo Arraes Amorim, The Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte

Associate Professor in the Psychology Department at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN). Professor of the Postgraduate Program in Psychology at UFRN and the Professional Master's Program in Family Health at UFRN/RENASF/MS. Coordinator of the Study Group on Politics, Production of Subjectivity and Practices of Resistance (GPPR/UFRN).

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Published

2026-03-25

How to Cite

Silva, L. R. da, & Amorim, A. K. de M. A. (2026). War machines and gang nomadism:: territories and daily lives in the drug field and in the Psychosocial Care Network. Altera Journal of Anthropology, (20), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.22478/ufpb.2447-9837.2025.n20.73213

Issue

No. 20 (2025): Dossiê Formas de Desigualdade e Políticas de Direito e Reconhecimento

Section

Dossiê formas de desigualdade e políticas de direito e reconhecimento

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