Commentary

A one day research workshop, 30. September 2011, 9.30-17.30. Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College, London, UK. By Christian Bueger Summary Piracy has re-entered the global stage as a pressing security problem. Addressing piracy requires identifying better mechanisms of military deterrence, surveillance and protection, means of building regional capabilities, such as … Read more

By Jan Stockbruegger That piracy has to be fought onshore in Somalia has become a truism. Somalia needs stable governance structures, a coastguard, and a strategy to fight piracy. Put differently, a Somali maritime security policy is needed. Some efforts into that direction are currently underway. The Mogadishu Roadmap, the outcome of a three day … Read more

By Christian Bueger The Contact Group goes public The Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia (CGPCS), the main governance arrangement for coordinating and organizing the global fight against piracy, has finally launched its website today. As was  announced in a UN press declaration the website will serve as a “cyber secretariat offering a … Read more

By Jan Stockbruegger Last year in March 2010 we published a blog titled “Gunmen, Fish and Puntland: the Professionalization of Piracy?“ outlining the findings of the UN Monitoring Group on Somali piracy (Report of the UN Monitoring Group on Somalia, S/2010/91 (10 March 2010)). Its results were that pirates are indeed becoming more professional by … Read more

Piracy is a growing field of academic inquiry and is analyzed from various perspectives and disciplinary backgrounds in International Relations, including global governance research, international law, security and strategic studies, area studies and behavioral sciences. As pointed out in our last blog, around ca. 30 papers on piracy were presented at this year’s annual convention … Read more

By Christian Bueger European politicians, diplomats and military persistently argue in public that the EU’s anti-piracy mission ATALANTA is a humanitarian mission. “Protecting the transports of the World Food Programme is the top priority of the operation” is a statement heard frequently. Now, it is true that the frigates of ATALANTA provide safe routes for … Read more

October 11, 2010 0 comments A reliable ally in the fight against piracy? Introducing Puntland By Jan Stockbruegger There is a general agreement among academics, journalists and policy makers that piracy cannot be defeated at sea. It has to be fought on land. Since the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) is too weak to do so, … Read more

irates are considered to be criminals. They hijack ships for ransom and make a fortune. They do not have political objectives. However, in a recent article in the New York TimesJeffrey Gettleman reports that Somali pirates are indeed getting involved in politics and take sides in the civil war. If this holds true, it marks … Read more

This first blog entry on Piracy-studies.org summarizes the state of affairs in the international community’s effort to fight piracy off the coast of Somalia. It describes some recent dynamics and tendencies, and portrays some possible future scenarios of the evolution of the piracy challenge and the international engagement in the Gulf of Aden and beyond. … Read more