Commentary

Paul Hallwood and Thomas J. Miceli University of Connecticut Modern day maritime piracy is a world-wide phenomenon that poses a serious threat to international shipping.  An economic approach to the control of maritime piracy is based on the general economic theory of law enforcement that views offenders (pirates) as rational decision makers who would respond … Read more

Global Directions, Merton College Oxford in Conjunction with the Royal Navy Hudson Trust Anja Shortland, Julia Amos and Sarah Percy The third international maritime security conference was held at Merton College, Oxford on 1 and 2 April 2014 with over forty delegates. It involved two days of lively conversation, stimulated by short presentations on various … Read more

Jan Stockbruegger, Cardiff University In the past, the maritime domain has not featured prominently on the policy agenda of the African Union and Regional Economic Communities (RECs). Neither the 1963 founding Charter of the Organization of African Unity (OUA), nor the 2002 Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU the successor of the AOU) contain … Read more

By Christian Bueger The European Union (EU) has been one of the driving actors of counter-piracy: EUNAVFOR Atalanta is one of the core naval force providers, the EU has been one of the core sponsors of the UNODC’s Counter Piracy Project, EUTM Somalia provides military training in Somalia, and the Critical Maritime Routes Program intends … Read more

The decade of large scale piracy off the coast of Somalia appears to be over. For almost two years no successful hijacking attempt was reported. Has piracy off Somalia been eradicated once and for all? According to the latest report of the UN Monitoring Group pirates have not gone out of business, but into other (illicit) … Read more

by Christian Bueger & Mohanvir Singh Saran A significant component of the long term strategy to counter-piracy originating in Somalia is the attempt to find regional solutions. The idea is to build a regional maritime security infrastructure which can cope with the menace in the long run. The very successful implementation of the East Asian Regional … Read more

Shipowners frequently wonder why the problem of piracy does not receive more political support and why not more public resources are spent to address the issue. One answer to this quandary is: public support. No convincing case has been made that the problem of piracy is in the public’s interest, that it is an issue … Read more

By James Bridger, Atlantic Council of Canada When confronting the crisis of Somali piracy, the preferred strategy of the international community has been to deploy naval vessels to protect vulnerable ships and deter and disrupt pirate attacks. The refrain that ‘the solution to piracy lies onshore’ is oft-heard, but counter-piracy actors—including the US, the EU, … Read more

By Dr. Samuel Pyeatt Menefee (Maury Fellow, Center for Oceans Law & Policy, University of Virginia and Adjunct Professor, World Maritime University) and Dr. Maximo Q. Mejia Jr. (Associate Professor, World Maritime University) A special issue has just been published by the WMU Journal of Maritime Affairs (Springer Verlag). The issue aims at contributing to … Read more