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Burcad Badeed: Somalia’s “Sea Bandits”

Burcad Badeed: Somalia’s “Sea Bandits”. Power Vacuum or Alternative?. Piracy - a Definition.

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Burcad Badeed: Somalia’s “Sea Bandits”

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  1. Burcad Badeed: Somalia’s “Sea Bandits” Power Vacuum or Alternative?

  2. Piracy - a Definition “any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew or the passengers of a private ship or aircraft and directed on the high seas against another ship or aircraft, or against persons or property on board such ship or aircraft..” -- UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

  3. Varieties of Piracy • State-affiliated: co-optation (1600s China), rent-seeking (Barbary States), and privateering (Francis Drake) • Absence of political authority but also an alternative form of power

  4. History of Somalia • Siad Barre dictatorship • rebellions in Puntland and Somaliland • Civil War and intervention (1992-1995) • Ethiopian invasion (2006-2008) • Civil War continues; failed state

  5. Beginnings • Vacuum of formal state filled by others • “coast guards” with fishing licenses • 2003-2004: hijacking of large vessels • Today, only 6.5% against fishing vessels • Foreign fishing vessels protected by fees payment to pirate groups

  6. Networks of Authority • Small-time fisherman model no longer viable • Consolidation into larger networks to mobilize skills and resources • Piracy is developed, predictable, business • Those who profit become new sources of political and economic power

  7. Afweyne Network • South Central Somalia • Distributions of payments through local • patron-client relations of lineage groups/clans • Generate conflict with old elders/elites

  8. Puntland - Official Collusion • Maxamed Faroole, President • Ilkajiir, Interior Minister • Government officials = intelligence source

  9. Why Piracy?

  10. Structural Causes • Extreme poverty coupled with high unemployment • Illegal foreign fishing ($300 million a year) depleting tuna stocks • Toxic dumping off Somali Coast

  11. Rational Choice • Piracy is a rational response to a series of opportunities in the local setting • The opportunities are absent political authority, availability of inputs, good location • The risk-reward structure is in the pirate networks’ favor

  12. Business Model • Profit margins are substantial: revenue of $50-$130 million annually in ransom • Set dividends for all participants • Payoffs to local political leaders factored into costs

  13. Political Authority • Weak and compliant state (TFG) • Collaboration from local authorities • Social acquiescence

  14. Implications LOCAL: Piracy based economy; undermining authority REGIONAL: Increased weapon smuggling; increase in fishermen income (Kenya) GLOBAL: Threat to international commerce; Increased costs

  15. International Response • Lack of authority; coordination • Naval response ignores root causes • Merchant shipping adopt low-cost solutions • Slow response to shift in pirate strategy

  16. Attacks in 2006

  17. Attacks in 2008

  18. Attacks in 2009

  19. Legal Authority • Legal limitations • Less than 50% of captured pirates prosecuted • “We discharged out international obligation. Others shied away form doing so and we cannot bear the burden of the international responsibility.” - Kenya 2010 • Unintended consequences: private security

  20. Conclusions • Somali piracy results from authority vacuum, but also creates new power structures • International neglect - nation-building unrealistic • Raising risks/costs for pirate backers • Time for a new UN Resolution? • Long-term: build local capacity

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