In recent years, modern-day piracy has exploded off the coasts of Somalia, and, in a new development of events, Benin. However, in the past, it was the Nigerian coast that was the hotspot for piracy in Africa. From 2001-2008, maritime piracy attacks occurring in Nigeria alone accounted for 31% of all attacks in Africa (Nincic 3). For nearly three-and-a-half decades, a significant portion of pirate activity in Africa occurred in Nigeria’s waters.
According to Donna Nincic, a professor at the California Maritime Academy, the reason for maritime piracy in Nigeria is due to dire humanitarian conditions in the area. This stems from the country’s agricultural expansion and crude oil exploration that propelled the nation into prosperity and increased maritime trade. The economic expansion was coupled with a rapidly increasing population. However, the country’s wealth was not distributed evenly amongst its population. The wealth was concentrated in a small percentage of the population, and poverty became increasingly pervasive (Anyu and Maki 4). Additionally, the country’s oil production facilities have spilled over 1.5 million tons of oil in the Delta over the past thirty years. This has decimated the local fisheries and farmland, which severely limits sources of income for Nigerians (Nincic 6). As a result, the impoverished population of Nigeria felt the need to turn to crime for quick profit—specifically, piracy.
Thus, pirate groups emerged under names like ‘the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND)’, proclaiming that they are fighting for fairer distribution of Nigeria’s vast oil wealth and protesting the damage caused by oil production in the Delta (Nincic 7). In this light, African pirates do not see themselves as terrorists contributing to the chaos of the world, but as victims of an oppressive society acting out against corrupt regimes.
With a humanitarian presentation of the issue of piracy, it makes sense to analyze the human rights aspect of the situation with social constructivist theory. According to Snyder in ‘One World, Rival Theories’, constructivism states that social reality is created through a debate about values (60). In the case of piracy in Nigeria, the Nigerian pirates are engaging in an unorthodox debate with the Nigerian government; through piracy, they are declaiming the unjust actions perpetrated by the leaders of their country. Additionally, Snyder posits that individuals and groups gain power by convincing others to adopt their ideas (“One World” 60). With the increase of piracy in the neighboring countries such as Benin and Togo serving as evidence, more and more people are turning to piracy as a means of subsisting (“Piracy Soars”). Thus, it appears that the emerging social construct is to accept and conform to the piracy movement.
However, analyzing the piracy situation using Drezner’s perspective of social constructivism leads to differing conclusions. In Drezner’s theoretical zombie situation, he posits that social constructivist would predict that “the zombie problem is what we make of it” (“Theory”). This does not bode well for the idea that pirates are actually crusaders against an unjust society. The world’s general perception of maritime piracy is—and always has been—negative. It is the constructed societal norm that pirates are terrorists that impede trade, disrupt peace, and lose money for the world economy. Evidence for this can be found in the way that world is seeking to end piracy. Unlike in cases of social injustice, society is not seeking to remedy the unjust causes of piracy. Instead, the goal is to cease piracy itself. Take for example, Jonathan Beatty’s paraphrasing of the Pearson Institute for International Economics: “…the only way to effectively curb piracy is to increase the punishment for pirates and to make sure the punishment is fully carried out.” (“Piracy: An Organized Profession”). Thus, it seems that to portray pirates as activists against injustice is to over-idealize the socially-constructed image of maritime terrorists.
For me, it was not surprising to find that there is an underlying social issue in the causes of piracy. This rings true in many cases of crime, whether it be children stealing fruit in developing countries, or grand theft auto in San Andreas. With this in mind, just as there is a lack of attention for the justice of perpetrators of theft crime such as this, there appears to be a lack of attention for the justice of those who feel that there is no viable economic option but piracy. In cases such as this, criminals and pirates are dehumanized. They have no life or background behind their actions as thieves and plunderers. Thus, they are dealt with outside of the compassion human dignity requires.
Now, I concede that my notions of “compassion” and “human dignity” can be qualified as social constructs that could inconvenience the progress and efficiency of the world. I am also not justifying the actions of pirates, or trying to claim that they do not have a negative impact on the world. These actions are acts of maritime terrorism and must be stopped. However, treating the underlying social issues behind piracy—although it may take much longer to implement and produce viable results—could improve the infrastructure and not only end piracy for the long term, but many other symptoms of injustice as well.
Works Cited
Anyu, J. Ndumbe, and Samuel Moki. "Africa: The Piracy Hot Spot and Its Implications for Global Security." Mediterranean Quarterly 20.3 (2009): 95-121. Duke University Press Journals Online. Duke University. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
"BBC News - 'Piracy Soars' off Coast of Benin." BBC. BBC, 11 Aug. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Beatty, Jonathan. "Piracy: An Organized Profession." SIS105.001H Class Blog. 11 Dec. 2011. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Drezner, Daniel W. "How International Relations Theory Would Cope with a Zombie Uprising | Daniel W. Drezner." Foreign Policy. The Slate Group, 18 Aug. 2009. Web. 12 Dec. 2011.
Nincic, Donna. "Maritime Piracy in Africa: The Humanitarian Dimension." African Security Review 18.3 (2009): 1-16. Taylor & Francis Online. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
Snyder, Jack. "One World, Rival Theories." Foreign Policy 145 (2004): 52-62. Print.
Interesting paper Aurora!
ReplyDeleteYou took an interesting approach to all of the discussions of piracy. After the discussion in class and some of your research, what are some solutions that you suggest to the problems you listed above?
Very interesting paper! Thanks for the mention, Aurora!
ReplyDeleteI agree with your conclusions, especially the part about having an underlying social issue that causes piracy. Curbing piracy is something that needs to be dealt with on an international scale.
You stated that one of the reasons for piracy in Nigeria was the large income gap present in the country. Out country has a large income gap. Do you see a form of piracy appearing in our country in the future (not on the same level of course)?
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ReplyDeleteHaili—I think a possible solution lies in changing the perception of piracy. For this, an excellent tool to potentially use is the transnational advocacy network. As of now, transnational advocacy is predominantly being used to provide countries experiencing piracy with better tools to combat pirates. However, if the governments of piracy-afflicted countries are indeed oppressing their citizens, these tools may treat the short-term effects of piracy but only further contribute to the underlying social injustice affecting pirates. But if other nations were to instead advocate social change in Africa, then there would be an increase in the efforts to repair the dire infrastructures of these countries.
ReplyDeleteJB—No problem; it was certainly worth it to cite your own insights within my paper. Your proposal of piracy in the US certainly posits an interesting theoretical situation. However, although our nation is experiencing an economic crisis, I don’t think that US citizens will be turning to piracy as a means of subsisting. One reason is based off geography. While the US does have significantly more miles of coastline than these African countries, the majority of its population lives in the vast square mileage between those coasts. And within those land-locked square miles of the US are vast amounts of non-maritime economic opportunities. As a result, our economy isn’t as dependent on the coast as coastal African countries. Bear in mind that all of Nigeria is smaller than South Carolina. Another reason why piracy is unlikely to exist in the US is because of the strength of the US military. Our navy is the best and the world, and we maintain an efficient Coast Guard. In countries like Nigeria, often there aren’t significant efforts put into maintaining a national force to combat coastal security issues. According to the Acting Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Joshua Opko, a resource center built on the Maritime Academy’s ground has not been functional for ten years due to neglect (http://allafrica.com/stories/201112090639.html). Thus, where the US military has strength and dominance along its coastline, African countries do not.