Somali pirates are back in action. A strong global response is needed

by Christian Bueger With the military escalation in the Red Sea caused by the Houthi attacks on merchant vessels and ongoing coercion by Iran, the Western Indian Ocean seems further away than ever from its self-declared goal to be a region of peace and prosperity. Growing maritime insecurity is also fed by the persistence of … Read more

SafeSeas researchers present at international maritime security forums

In November 2022 SafeSeas researchers attend several important international maritime security forums. Dr. Jan Stockbruegger will be attending the 50th Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (SHADE) meeting in Bahrain. He will be providing an academic perspective to the event, drawing on a recent research article on maritime security in the Western Indian Ocean. He argues that … Read more

New Commentary: the contact group in the Western Indian Ocean

In early 2022 a subtle, but substantial shift took place in the Western Indian Ocean’s security architecture: The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (known as CGPCS) closed shop. It was replaced by a new format. Yet, not much action followed. In a new commentary, Christian Bueger investigates the prospects of the … Read more

Can the new contact group add value in the Western Indian Ocean? 4 scenarios

by Christian Bueger In early 2022 a subtle, but substantial shift took place in the Western Indian Ocean’s security architecture: The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (known as CGPCS) closed shop. The CGPCS had been an instrumental part in containing piracy off the Coast of Somalia. Since its installation in 2009 … Read more

New article – how to improve the maritime security architecture in the Western Indian Ocean

Professor Christian Bueger and Dr. Jan Stockbruegger have conducted a review of the current security situation in the Western Indian Ocean. The study is published in African Security Review. They show which insecurities are on the rise and argue that the rise of geopolitical concerns increasingly produces a militarization dilemma: foreign naval forces are needed … Read more

Book on Capacity Building for Maritime Security published

How can countries step up their maritime security? How can they better tackle challenges, such as illegal fishing, marine piracy or smuggling? How can the international community better assist countries with weaker capacities? A major new book authored by the SafeSeas team addresses these and related questions. The book draws on an 18 months research … Read more

Review of new book on the coastguard-navy nexus

The review of Ian Bowers and Swee Lean Collin Koh’s “Grey and White Hulls: An International Analysis of the Navy-Coastguard Nexus” by Christian Bueger is now published with Contemporary Southeast Asia. The book presents one of the first major comparative studies of how countries organise their maritime security structures. Read here.

Into the sea: capacity-building innovations and the maritime security challenge

Safeseas is pleased to announce an article co-authored by directors Tim Edmunds and Christian Bueger, and former Research Associate Robert McCabe, has been published in Third World Quarterly. Titled ‘Into the sea: capacity-building innovations and the maritime security challenge’, the article argues that maritime security capacity-building not only requires further study, but should also be … Read more