Dangers of Success: The Economics of Somali Piracy

Abstract

Somali piracy can be contained when ship-owners and the international naval coalition act in concert to deny pirates easy targets. Pirates turned to alternative (criminal) pursuits when their success rates dropped and the risk of imprisonment rose. This chapter argues that military containment is expensive and fails to address the conditions which led local elites to provide crucial land-side support to pirates. Although promising land-based counter-piracy initiatives were proposed, the success of the militarised response meant that developmental approaches did not receive sufficient international attention and funding to gain traction.