Political Geographies of Piracy

Constructing Threats and Containing Bodies in Somalia

B. VandeBerg, Kenneth A. Loparo, Brittany Gilmer

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9781137434227
• eBook ISBN: 9781137434234
• Topic: Sciences sociales
• Subtopic: Politique africaine

This book examines the increasing role of development organizations in securitization processes and argues that the new security-development counter piracy framework is (re)shaping political geographies of piracy by promoting disciplinary strategies aimed at the prevention and containment of gendered and racialized actions and bodies in Somalia.

CHAPTER 1

SETTING THE STAGE: STUDIES, GEOGRAPHIES, AND APPROACHES

FOLLOWING THE 2009 HIJACKING OF THE US-FLAGGED MAERSK ALABAMA and the kidnapping of its captain, rethinking the existing framework for combating piracy off the coast of Somali was next to inevitable. The hijacking not only raised questions about the size and capabilities of existing military deterrence efforts, but it also sparked discussions of increasing ­private security aboard shipping vessels. Since the introduction of private security aboard shipping vessels the number of successful piracy attacks has steadily decreased. This begged the question, if the number of successful piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia has been decreasing since 2009, why are counter piracy actors calling for an increase in and expansion of current counter piracy efforts? In addition, why and how has securing and developing Somalia become a cornerstone of international efforts to combat the crime of piracy?

In an effort to address these questions, it became evident that the recent period of pirate mania (or perhaps, more accurately, Somali pirate mania) is being fueled by more than just a desire to prosecute those who commit crimes on the high seas. Rather, it is being fueled by a complex entanglement of personal profit motives, institutional machinations, and a desire to prevent and contain particular gendered and racialized bodies within Somalia, all under the banner of regional and global security. What have not been examined, until now, are the multi-scalar implications of the policies and practices being implemented under the security-development counter piracy framework.

This book explores the inner-workings of counter piracy efforts by examining what goes on behind office doors, behind prison walls, and on the ground in Somalia. It utilizes the UNODC CPP as a focal point, and examines the many actors and motivations involved in designing counter piracy security and development practices. It also explores how these practices are being experienced and resisted at the local and individual scales in Somalia. Furthermore, it provides an empirical example of how the emergent pre-crime society is being materialized in practices that are reshaping geographies of security, development, and criminal justice in the Third World.

This chapter provides an overview of Somali piracy. It begins by introducing the most popular veins in which academics have approached the study of Somali piracy. Next, it explores the geographies of Somali piracy and highlights the regions in Somalia where piracy activity is most prevalent. The chapter then presents traditional counter piracy approaches by focusing on international resolutions permitting the use of military and rule-of-law measures for combating Somali piracy. Despite their prevalence, these approaches have geopolitical limitations and have been receiving increasing levels of criticism. After looking at traditional counter piracy approaches, the chapter concludes with a discussion of recently proposed alternative strategies for combating piracy off the coast of Somalia.

ACADEMIA AND SOMALI PIRACY

Why does piracy matter? Or, more specifically, why does Somali piracy matter? According to a speech delivered by a Minister of the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, piracy matters to the global economy because the shipping route through the Gulf of Aden and along the Somali coast is the second-busiest international trade route. Approximately 23,000 ships, amounting to nearly one trillion dollars of trade, transit through the Gulf of Aden each year (Bellingham 2011). The strategic importance of the shipping routes along Somalia’s coast has prompted governments to react with military and criminal justice interventions in an effort to prevent pirates from disrupting the flow of goods and capital. Somali piracy, and the responses to it, has also gained the attention of academics. Scholars have written broadly on the political, economic, ­historical, and legal contexts surrounding Somali piracy.

As an issue of academic inquiry the research on piracy off the coast of Somalia often takes one of three approaches: (1) examining the strategies for high seas piracy-suppression; (2) examining the legal complexities of prosecuting pirates; or (3) theorizing the root causes of piracy. Research examining the strategies for high seas piracy-suppression attempts to answer questions about who should fight piracy and how (Murphy 2007; Berg 2009). Recent literature in this vein explores the arrangement, ­policies, and practices of naval operations patrolling the waters off the coast of Somalia (Germond and Smith 2009; Alderwick and Geigerich 2010). The increase in contracted private security companies aboard shipping vessels has also prompted a rise in studies debating the politics and ethics of public versus private security in the fight against piracy (Spearin 2010; Ronzitti 2011).

Piracy literature exploring the legal aspect of piracy has taken a variety of forms. Early literature analyzed the jurisdictional complexities of arresting and prosecuting piracy-related crimes that occur on the high seas, closely scrutinized international laws of the sea, and challenged the legality of transferring and prosecuting pirates in foreign countries (Berg 2009; Gibson 2009; Sterio 2009–2010). More recent legal research questions the legality and morality of paying ransoms (Rapp 2010; Rutowski et al. 2010) and takes a closer look at human rights violations occurring during processes of arresting, prosecuting, and detaining pirates (Guilfoyle 2010). Research by Kraska (2011) and Kraska and Wilson (2009) examines the point of intersection between naval operation practices and judicial processes.

The third approach to piracy research looks at what is occurring on shore in Somalia. This diverges from earlier research by arguing that understanding what is happening on land in Somalia is critical to understanding what is happening at sea. Several scholars profess that piracy is a result of the lack of economic alternatives in Somalia coupled with a ­history of state failure (Hastings 2009; Beri 2011). Other scholars venture to theorize the geopolitical consequences of onshore military responses to piracy (Kraska 2009; Holmes 2010; Negi 2011) and underscore the existence of and possibilities for non-military, onshore responses to piracy (Bueger et al. 2011; Murphy 2011; Bueger 2012 and 2013). Lastly, there has been an increasing body of popular literature detailing first-hand accounts of piracy operations, hijackings, and kidnappings (Burnett 2002; Phillips 2010; Bahadur 2011; Buchanan 2013). This literature has garnered a broad audience of academics and non-academics and, recently, inspired a Hollywood movie.

For this study, the academic literature on piracy was read alongside recent literature on crime, security, and development. What distinguishes this research from previous piracy-related literature, and makes it timely and urgent, is that very little is known or understood about the politics taking place within the international counter piracy regime or how counter piracy programming is impacting the Somali people. As counter piracy programming increases in size and funding, there is a gap in the literature examining who is behind these projects, how they are designed, funded, operationalized, and what their unintended consequences are. This research provides a unique insider’s perspective into the institutional machinations at stake in combating piracy off the coast of Somalia. In addition, whereas the vast majority of academic research on Somali piracy is based on secondary sources, this research is based on fieldwork conducted by the author in Somalia in collaboration with Somali government officials, key counter piracy actors, members of the Somali public, and convicted Somali piracy prisoners. The Somali-based fieldwork provides a compelling glimpse into how security-development counter piracy strategies are being implemented on the ground in Somalia, their impact on vulnerable populations, and how they are being promoted or resisted among different sectors of Somali society.

SETTING THE STAGE: GEOGRAPHIES OF SOMALI PIRACY

Despite the conceptual simplification of considering Somalia a single nation, the last two decades following Somalia’s Civil War suggest distinct regional divisions within Somalia. In order to implement more contextually appropriate development approaches, the UN, including the UNODC CPP, often sub-divide Somalia into regions. The number of sub-divided regions varies by UN agencies. The UNODC CPP recognizes three regions for operationalizing counter piracy projects: Somaliland, Puntland, and South Central.1 The UNODC CPP and other counter piracy actors attribute the existence and geographies of Somali piracy to the criminal justice and rule-of-law capacities and the level of economic development of these Somali regions. These geographies are then utilized to inform counter piracy strategies, and, in particular, to inform the design of the UNODC CPP anti-piracy messaging campaign(s). The following sections provide a geographical overview of Somali piracy.

SOUTH CENTRAL AND PIRACY

The South Central region of Somalia is plagued with instability, insecurity, and a struggling economy. Constant fighting between Islamist factions (notably al-Shabaab), warlords, Ethiopian troops, Kenyan troops, African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), Transitional Federal Government (TFG) loyalists, and others has resulted in a relatively lawless, ungovernable region and a humanitarian disaster.2 According to a report detailing state failure and piracy in Somalia, the majority of the people impacted by famine, and in dire need of humanitarian assistance, live in the South Central region of Somalia (Larson 2010). According to UNODC CPP statistics, since 2009, 18 pirates have been apprehended off the coast of South Central (February 2012 Brochure). This low number may, in part, reflect South Central’s lack of policing and coast guard resources, which impedes the apprehension, trying, conviction, and imprisonment of pirates within the South Central region.

Even though a substantial percentage of pirates apprehended off the coast of Somalia originate from this region, South Central pirates are generally recruited into Puntland-based piracy operations or launch their own piracy operations off the shores of Puntland.3 Of the Somali pirates apprehended, tried, convicted, and imprisoned with the assistance of the UNODC CPP, approximately 40 percent claim to originate from the South Central region.4 At the time of writing this book the UNODC CPP was not implementing any counter piracy programs in South Central.

PUNTLAND AND PIRACY

The Puntland region is located north of South Central and east of Somaliland. Puntland has a higher level of security and stability than South Central, but falls well behind Somaliland in both categories. It suffers from a shortage of policing and judiciary resources and struggles with high levels of criminality (Larson 2010). Over the past two years the numbers of international aid workers and international and local journalists ­kidnapped and/or killed in Puntland has steadily increased. Most Somali piracy attacks occur off the coast of Puntland. According to UNODC CPP statistics, since 2009, 240 pirates were apprehended off the coast of Puntland and 209 were convicted of crimes of piracy (February 2012 Brochure). Of the pirates apprehended, tried, convicted, and imprisoned with the assistance of the UNODC CPP, approximately 49 percent of them claim to originate from the Puntland region.5 The UNODC CPP is currently constructing and refurbishing prisons in Garowe and Bossaso, Puntland, which will detain future repatriated piracy prisoners. In addition, with the assistance of UNODC CPP, the government of Puntland has adopted Piracy Laws and Piracy Prisoner Transfer Laws that enable the region to prosecute, imprison, and accept repatriated, convicted piracy prisoners from the Seychelles.

SOMALILAND AND PIRACY

Somaliland is a relatively stable region in northwestern Somalia. However, recent clashes over a disputed region between Somaliland and Puntland, as well as reports of an increasing al-Shabaab presence, are threatening the region’s stability. Somaliland unofficially seceded from Somalia in 1991 following the Somali Civil War and considers itself a sovereign state—the Republic of Somaliland. However, Somaliland is not officially recognized as a sovereign state by either the Federal Government of Somalia or the international communi...

Table of contents

• COVER PAGE
• HALF TITLE PAGE
• MAP OF SOMALIA
• TITLE PAGE
• COPYRIGHT
• DEDICATION
• CONTENTS
• ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
• LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
• AUTHOR
• INTRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 1: SETTING THE STAGE: STUDIES, GEOGRAPHIES, AND APPROACHES
• CHAPTER 2: STATE OF CRISIS: ROOTING PIRACY IN SECURITY AND DEVELOPMENT
• CHAPTER 3: PIRATE MANIA: GLOBAL DISCOURSE, UNLIKELY PARTNERSHIPS, AND NEW STRATEGIES
• CHAPTER 4: BEHIND OFFICE DOORS: CONSTRUCTING THREATS, CAMPAIGNS, AND IDENTITIES
• CHAPTER 5: ON THE GROUND IN SOMALIA: GENDER, SECURITY, AND SOCIAL REPRODUCTION
• CHAPTER 6: AT SEA AND INSIDE PRISONS: MARKED BODIES, MOBILITIES, AND RESISTANCE
• CHAPTER 7: PIRATE PIE: POLITICAL ECONOMY, PIRATIZATION, AND INSTITUTIONAL SURVIVAL
• CHAPTER 8: BEYOND INTERVENTION: PREVENTING ACTIONS, CONTAINING BODIES, AND MAKING PROFITS
• NOTES
• BIBLIOGRAPHY
• INDEX