Hijacked: Air Piracy, Sovereignty, and Detente in the Cold War

The late 1960s and 1970s saw a dramatic uptick in airplane hijackings around the world at about the same time that the Cold War settled into a less confrontational period of "detente." In a recent article, Erik Scott (University of Kansas) examined the hijacking of Soviet flights as a particular manifestation of this trend, which brought to the foreground issues of sovereignty over space and human subjects. He concludes that both hijackings and detente allowed the United States and the Soviet Union to find common ground regarding global power and sovereignties in the 1970s. Professor Scott will join us for a virtual brownbag on topics related to the Cold War, borders, and sovereignty. The event will be hosted by Professor Sanborn (History/REES) and the students of HIST 118 (The Cold War). Individuals interested in attending the session should email Professor Sanborn for the Zoom link.