Following six years of extensive fieldwork, Weldemichael examines the international causes, internal dynamics, and domestic consequences of piracy in Somalia.

The first contribution to Global Flashpoints: A Scarecrow Press Series, Christopher Daniels' Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa provides readers with a comprehensive and in-depth analysis of the spate of piracy and terrorism plaguing the waters of Somalia and the global threat posed by this activity. Contesting the commonly held perception that the piracy and terrorism occurring in Somalia are two separate and unrelated activities, Daniels reveals how the collapse of the Somali state and the chaos that has ensued created the environment for piracy and terrorism to flourish in combination. He also notes how the failure to restore a functioning central government has allowed both to become dangerous threats not only to the people of Somalia but the entire world. Underscoring Somalia's dire state, Somali Piracy and Terrorism in the Horn of Africa lays out for readers such significant topics as the reasons behind the collapse of the Somali state and the secession of Somaliland, Puntland, and Jubaland; the rise of internationally-linked terrorist groups, such as Al-Shabaab and Hizbul Islam; and the dramatic spike in pirate attacks off the Somali coast. Daniels concludes by critiquing the methods that have been used to help alleviate these global security challenges and gives policy recommendations for future consideration. Designed to enhance readers' grasp of this global flashpoint, this volume includes a timeline, a glossary of terms, biographical entries on key individual and institutional actors in this conflict, and selected primary sources. It is the ideal introduction to students and scholars of international relations, African history and politics, terrorism, and maritime studies.

Somali piracy is repeatedly associated with the historical specter of barbary. The world now fears Somalia has taken on its mantle by becoming a safe haven for terrorists wishing to wreak havoc on civilized societies. Western policy towards Somalia focuses on the country's poverty-stricken Islamic population, but are these efforts misdirected? Is an aggressive naval solution to the piracy problem adequate? Is the failure of the Somali state a useful explanation for piracy and will violent Islamism exploit modern piracy for its own ends? Martin Murphy, author of the definitive guide to modern maritime piracy and terrorism, employs his critically-acclaimed approach to review the history, motivation, organization, criminal methods, and operational tactics of Somali piracy, from its initial manifestation in the early-1990s to today. He links their activities and fortunes to the rise and fall of Somalia's political groups; explains how and why violent Islamists operate within Somalia; and outlines the extent to which they may exploit maritime dimensions in the future. He concludes with a consideration of the various political and military solutions being used to meet these challenges and whether they will resolve them effectively.

In the failed East African state of Somalia, piracy has become a dominant factor in the economy. Bordering one of the world's busiest waterwayswith steady traffic coming and going through the Suez CanalSomalia's north shore, once famed as the Incense Coast, provides a dependable parade of suitable victims. Maritime nations have powerful naval contingents in the region; but, lacking legal justification for preemptive action, they are paralyzed and ineffective. News media are hungry for stories and photographs of pirates, and Jitka Malecek, a freelance photographer with prior experience in East Africa, has a plan for obtaining them. Somalia acts as a magnet for her, drawing the aggressive young photographer inexorably into the action. Commander Vance Morrisette of the U.S. Navy, a former SEAL, has worked in the region before. Morrisette is given a covert assignment to join a civilian security firm, providing protection against piracy. These contractors are constrained to employ nonlethal techniques against heavily armed pirates who have no such restrictions. Chafing under rules of engagement that handcuff law-abiding nations, Morrisette contemplates more violent alternatives. When Jitka Malecek disappears into lawless Somalia, he must take matters into his own hands and track her down before her time and luck run out.

Recent attacks, including those on U.S.-flagged vessels, in the waters off the Horn of Africa have brought new U.S. and international attention to the long-standing problem of piracy in the region. The increase in pirate attacks off the Horn of Africa is directly linked to continuing insecurity and the absence of the rule of law in war-torn Somalia. The absence of a functioning government in Somalia remains the single greatest challenge to regional security and provides freedom of action for those engaged in piracy along the Somali coast. Some observers also have alleged that the absence of coastal security authorities in Somalia has allowed illegal international fishing and maritime dumping to occur in Somali waters, which in turn has undermined the economic prospects of some Somalis and may be providing economic or political motivation to some groups engaged in piracy. The apparent motive of many active Somali pirate groups is profit, and piracy has proven to be a lucrative activity for many thus far. Most experts believe that the reestablishment of government authority in Somalia is the only guarantee that piracy will not persist or reemerge as a threat. Congress may seek to influence U.S. policy through oversight of U.S. military operations and diplomacy and through foreign assistance appropriations and authorizations.

Named a "Notable Naval Book of 2012" by Proceedings magazine, Pirate Alley is now available in paperback. The book provides an in-depth look at every aspect of Somali piracy, from how the pirates operate to how the actions of a relative handful of youthful criminals and their bosses have impacted the world economy. It explores the debate over the recently adopted practice of putting armed guards aboard merchant ships, and focuses on the best management practices that are changing the ways that ships are outfitted for travel through what’s known as the High-Risk Area. Readers will learn that the consequence of protecting high quality targets such as container ships and crude oil carriers may be that pirates turn to crime on land, such as the kidnapping of foreigners.

The order authorizes the Treasury Department, in coordination with the State Department, to identify and to block the property and interests under U. S. jurisdiction of individuals threatening the peace and security of Somalia, those obstructing the delivery of humanitarian assistance to or in Somalia, and those directly or indirectly supporting military activities in Somalia. [...] Once the attack is successful and the vessel hijacked, the pirates direct the vessel to the Somali coast and thereafter demand a ransom for the safe release of the vessel and crew. [...] In response, the United Nations, the League of Arab States, the African Union, and the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) issued a joint statement in June 2009 condemning the insurgents as a threat "not only to the country, but to the IGAD region and the international community."8 In March 2010, Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa (ASWJ), an Islamist militia joined forces with the TFG to [...] The number of attacks in Somali waters doubled in 2008, accounting for an estimated 40% of the 293 pirate attacks reported worldwide.17 The recent increase in pirate attacks off Somalia has caused the total number of worldwide pirate attacks to return to the levels of 2000-2004: of the 406 worldwide attacks in 2009, 217 of them occurred off the coast of Somalia. [...] The April 14, 2009, attack on the U. S.-flagged MV Liberty Sun allegedly was carried out with the intention of damaging or sinking the ship and injuring or killing its crew in retaliation for the deaths of three Somali pirates during U. S. military efforts to secure the release of the detained captain of the MV Maersk Alabama days earlier (see "Threats to U. S. Flagged Vessels and the MV Maersk Al.

Shows how regional and international interventions, combined with piracy, have compounded pre-existing tensions in the Horn of Africa.

Michael Scott Moore, a journalist and the author of Sweetness and Blood, incorporates personal narrative and rigorous investigative journalism in this profound and revelatory memoir of his three-year captivity by Somali pirates—a riveting,thoughtful, and emotionally resonant exploration of foreign policy, religious extremism, and the costs of survival. In January 2012, having covered a Somali pirate trial in Hamburg for Spiegel Online International—and funded by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting—Michael Scott Moore traveled to the Horn of Africa to write about piracy and ways to end it. In a terrible twist of fate, Moore himself was kidnapped and subsequently held captive by Somali pirates. Subjected to conditions that break even the strongest spirits—physical injury, starvation, isolation, terror—Moore’s survival is a testament to his indomitable strength of mind. In September 2014, after 977 days, he walked free when his ransom was put together by the help of several US and German institutions, friends, colleagues, and his strong-willed mother. Yet Moore’s own struggle is only part of the story: The Desert and the Sea falls at the intersection of reportage, memoir, and history. Caught between Muslim pirates, the looming threat of Al-Shabaab, and the rise of ISIS, Moore observes the worlds that surrounded him—the economics and history of piracy; the effects of post-colonialism; the politics of hostage negotiation and ransom; while also conjuring the various faces of Islam—and places his ordeal in the context of the larger political and historical issues. A sort of Catch-22 meets Black Hawk Down, The Desert and the Sea is written with dark humor, candor, and a journalist’s clinical distance and eye for detail. Moore offers an intimate and otherwise inaccessible view of life as we cannot fathom it, brilliantly weaving his own experience as a hostage with the social, economic, religious, and political factors creating it. The Desert and the Sea is wildly compelling and a book that will take its place next to titles like Den of Lions and Even Silence Has an End.

Seminar paper from the year 2016 in the subject Politics - Region: Africa, grade: 1,3, Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, language: English, abstract: Over the last two decades, the post-colonial state of Somalia has been well-known as a so-called “failed state” in the scholarly literature. Common structures of a national state were not visible in the African country. Somalia, even though far from politically stable under the dictator Siad Barre, had been suffering even more after the down-fall of the regime in 1991. Ever since, war, destruction, hunger and poverty had been predominant in the fragile state. It lacked organisation, authority and essential structures. Terrorist groups as well as warlords shaped the political landscape of the country. And although Somalia had transitional administrations from 2004, it did not have a functioning central government until the 2012 election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud. Shortland and Percy described the situation accurately by stating: “anarchy on land means piracy at sea”.