Africa Center for Strategic Studies

By James Kraska and Brian Wilson.  Harvard International Review, 2009. The maritime domain is predominantly international and therefore efforts to address piracy require multi-national collaboration. Exemplary initiatives such as the sub-regional coast guard network arranged by the Maritime Organization of West and Central Africa and the Maritime Security Trust Fund of the International Maritime Organization deserve greater support and attention. [LINK]

By Raymond Gilpin.  United States Institute of Peace, 2009. Piracy off the coast of Somalia is driven by complex inter-clan politics, poverty, and business networks. U.S. and EU interdiction efforts have focused on military responses and maritime surveillance platforms – missing many of these underlying factors. Paradoxically, successful anti-piracy measures may only weaken clans that regularly resist the expansion of Islamic extremist groups that threaten their regions. [PDF]

By Gary E.Weir. Naval War College Review, 2009. An up-to-date primer on piracy in the Horn of Africa. A readable recent history of the evolution of the piracy industry, as well as an interesting section on how to make “human network” cooperation among regional and state actors work. [PDF]

By Lauren Ploch. Congressional Research Service, 2009. An in-depth analysis of the increase in pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia that began in 2008. Written for congressional lawmakers, the paper looks at U.S. and international (chiefly NATO and European Union) policy responses as of April 2009. [PDF]

By Roger Middleton. Chatham House, 2009. This paper reports on the proceedings of a roundtable of experts brought together in February 2009 to clarify some of the legal concerns around combating piracy off the Somali coast, focusing on the international legal framework on piracy and legal issues surrounding the arrest and prosecution of pirates. [PDF]