Piracy and Maritime Security

Maritime security has deteriorated over the past 15 years, with a sharp increase in pirate attacks on vessels and installations. The worst affected region is no longer Southeast Asia (in particular the Straits of Malacca) but the Gulf of Aden and the Somali Basin. Although the issue attracts enormous public attention in Europe, the direct economic costs are actually relatively limited. Piracy and maritime insecurity become a matter for action by the international community principally when the direct economic impact becomes conflated with a complex situation of regional insecurity. In that case military action is central to containing the problem. But a purely military operation cannot eliminate the causes of piracy in the Gulf of Aden, in the Somali Basin or anywhere else. As the example of the Straits of Malacca demonstrates, multilateral international efforts to resolve political conflicts and establish effective statehood are crucial.

Table of Contents

Stefan Mair
Synopsis
p.5-9

Kerstin Petretto
Piracy as a Problem of International Politics
p.10-19

Stormy-Annika Mildner, Franziska Groß
Piracy and World Trade: The Economic Costs
p.20-27

Denis M. Tull
West Africa
p.28-33

Bettina Rudloff, Annette Weber
Somalia and the Gulf of Aden
p.34-41

Howard Loewen, Anja Bodenmüller
Straits of Malacca
p.42-48

Daniel Brombacher, Günther Maihold
Maritime Security in Latin America
p.49-55

Christian Schaller
Combating Acts of Piracy under International Law
p.56-61

Frank Kupferschmidt
Multinational Military Engagement
p.62-70

Andreas Paulus, Micha Comnick
The Role of the German Navy and Federal Police
p.71-81

Christian Schaller
Prosecuting Pirates
p.82-90

Appendix
p.91

Abbreviations
p.91-92

Authors
p.93