Article Summary on Piracy for Monday's Class

As you all know, we have a speaker coming to discuss piracy. Whenever I think of pirates, or piracy, I imagine Pirates of the Caribbean which is obviously no longer realistic. Therefore, I wanted a little background information on modern piracy and found a very interesting article that I thought I would share. Modern Piracy as a Subject of Academic Enquiry, written by Stig Jarle Hansen, discusses the causes and consequences of modern day piracy. Hansen also discusses the reasons in which piracy is a sensitive topic that is hard to research and accurately define. The article presents a unique approach to the subject while also containing factual evidence and other points of view that contribute to the argument.

Hansen begins by giving The International Maritime Bureau’s (IMB) definition of piracy as “an act of boarding or attempting to board any ship with the intent to commit theft or any other crime and with the intent or capability to use force in the furtherance of that act”. According to Hansen, acts of piracy have increased tremendously over the past few years, but “remains on the fringes of academic research interests, often seen as an exotic and rare phenomenon, often studied in connection with terrorism and other forms of crime”. In 2007, 282 attacks were reported which was an increase of 41% the previous year. Hansen spends the remainder of his article explaining the causes of the increase of attacks.

Hansen describes the first cause of piracy as a “cultural factor”. He argues that in area such as South East Asia, piracy is a timeless tradition that has been practiced for centuries. Interestingly, Hansen points out that “in making the claim that culture and piracy are connected, such an approach generally sees culture as something stable, and a culturally focused approach fails to account for changes in the frequency of piracy”. Therefore, if these cultures were stable, they would no longer participate in piracy, as the act is definitely not stable.

Another possible cause is the issue of illegal fishing. Gunnar Stolsvik, from the Norwegian coast guard, argues that illegal fishing from groups of people eliminates jobs, and this income, for local fisherman. In turn, they rely on piracy to fill the monetary void that Illegal fishing has left. Hansen notes that the idea is very undeveloped, but plausible, and states that “the issue is politically sensitive, as ships of many of the relatively wealthy countries in the world are involved in illegal fishing activities in piracy zones”. According to Hansen, the German environment NGO Ecoterra has named France and Spain as two states that fish illegally in Somali waters. Despite the possibility, “illegal fishing does at best explain only parts of the problem – in the pirate ports in the Gulf of Aden the fishing industry is actually expanding parallel to the frequency of piracy”. This brings into question the issue of how states interact and what actions should be made to find a solution to the issue.

Poverty is perhaps one of the most supported approaches to the causes of piracy. However, according to Hansen, “explanations of piracy focusing solely on poverty or livelihood problems encounter pragmatic challenges as many pirate groups invest heavily in their activities”. This then contradicts the idea that illegal fishing is a cause of piracy.” Somali pirates operating from Puntland use GPS systems, satellite phones, modern speed boats and mother ships and there are allegations that they have agent networks in foreign ports”. Jobless fishermen would not have the amount of money neded to purchase these technologies necessary for successful piracy. However, poverty is not something that is easily fixed. Therefore, one must question how to solve the piracy issue with poverty still being a factor.

Hansen continues by dividing pirates into two different groups, subsistence piracy and professional piracy. If this is true, then both arguments (illegal fishing/poverty vs. richer pirates) are correct. “Subsistence pirates are most commonly poor fishermen, operating close to the coast in order to survive, while professional pirates are better off, with leaders investing money in profit-driven enterprises based on piracy, developing highly advanced and often regional networks to sell stolen goods and handle ransom payments”.

Furthermore, piracy may be linked to a wider approach that sees lack of alternative opportunities as a cause of crime and conflict”. Hansen, among other researchers and analysts, believe that piracy may have higher rates in unstable countries that are unable to control the staggering increase in the act. According to analyst Carolin Liss, global economic problems and/or local wars weaken state structures preventing enforcement of local laws.[14]Local police forces and justice institutions might be corrupt because of low pay, or indeed, no pay; they might also be weak or understaffed, thus hindering attempts to arrest the pirates. Indeed, local enforcement institutions might not even exist”. She argues that even in a “normal” government, tracking pirates would be difficult to do, making it even harder in unstable states. “Unitary local military factions with foreign allies might thus act as a block against piracy”. Therefore, a strong state, and the aide of non-state actors, could potentially bring piracy to a halt.

Additionally, “maritime analysts often focus on a fourth factor – maritime counter strategies, or often the lack of them”. However, the resources needed to do so are costly, and the weak states (who are the ones that struggle with piracy the most) can’t afford to supply them. Because of the uncontrollable amount of pirates, it would be difficult for even Western states to fund counter strategies. “As claimed by Roger Middleton, when it comes to the specific case of suppressing piracy in Aden, the extra NATO and US deployment, an extra 10 or 11 ships – albeit being a relatively large number – only provides a relatively weak naval presence“. Despite the problems, military intervention may be the only way to stop the piracy issue.

Finally, the last factor contributing to piracy is terrorism or insurgency. “For example, a report from Chatham House claims that the Somali Islamist organization Al Shebab was engaged in piracy in Somalia (and) The Free Ache Movement and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) have also been alleged to gain money from piracy”. Hansen notes that because of the linkage to terrorism, researches become interested in piracy. However, their interest is often temporary, and dedicated to only some cases. In order for any solutions to be made, a more broad and objective approach needs to occur. “Importantly, such links might vary in scope and depth, from insurgents and terrorist groups using pirates to smuggle arms (marriages of convenience), to direct profit driven piracy by insurgency/terror groups. Terrorism and insurgency might however contribute to the weakening of local state institutions needed to prevent piracy”. A new approach to researching solutions to piracy must be taken in order for success. If researchers continue with the same approach, the problem will persist.

Hansen concludes by reemphasizing the causes and consequences of piracy. The article was very interesting, as it not only introduced common ideas surrounding piracy, but unique views and approaches to these concepts. I felt that this article helped me have a better understanding of what modern day piracy is and why it is so common today.

http://www.e-ir.info/?p=593

Works Cited

Hansen, Stig J. "Modern Piracy as a Subject of Academic Enquiry." E International Relations. 19 Dec. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2011. .