This thesis, focusing on Somali piracy and the threat it poses to international trade, answers the following question: "What has been the international community's response to Somali piracy?" This question has practical and disciplinary relevance to the field of international relations and is therefore approached in two ways.
Firstly, the response was studied from a practical perspective. Since 2008 the Gulf of Aden has experienced the resurgence of Somali piracy and has replaced Indonesia, including the Malacca Straits, as the world's premier piracy hot spot. Moreover, 16,000 ships pass through this maritime route each year and 84% of attacks are directed at merchant vessels registered in 50 different countries. Therefore, it is undoubtedly clear that Somali piracy is a transnational problem that poses a significant threat to international trade. The thesis assessed the strengths and weaknesses of the current anti-piracy response in an attempt to help policy makers bolster and prioritize their efforts to combat piracy.
Secondly, the question was approached from a disciplinary standpoint to strengthen the policy analysis and test the relevance of international relations theory in the face of this maritime problem. The response was analyzed vis-à-vis two prominent, yet starkly different, international relations theories. Realism advocates unilateral state action to solve international problems while International Regime Theory argues for cooperation among states through legal and political frameworks, or regimes, created by international institutions. By using an interpretive case study approach, the paper hoped to establish which theory was most relevant for combating piracy and, as a result, make a meaningful contribution to international relations literature.
The paper finds that the response is divided into two regimes. The Apprehension Regime is the mechanism through which merchant vessels are protected. The Apprehension and Prosecution Regime deals with the aftermath of piracy attacks, which involves the capture and prosecution of pirates. These regimes were defined through the use of primary sources, which included phone calls to relevant organizations and interviews to representatives of the private shipping industry. Both regimes were coordinated by the United Nations, (UN) which is one of the few actors in the international system that can provide the necessary supranational authority and coordination to bring together different parties and nations in the fight of this transnational problem. It has helped standardize norms and rules for the protection of merchant vessels and the apprehension and prosecution of pirates.
The majority of the regimes' components were created in late 2008. As there is still no comprehensive data for piracy attacks in 2009, a clear assessment of the response will have to wait. However, it is already clear that the response has been well conceived and coordinated and is being executed in a decisive manner. Moreover, several groups and nations have shown remarkable commitment - the European Union (EU) launched its first ever naval operation and the US has created a multinational naval task force that consists of 20 nations.
By establishing the validity of the regimes, the paper shows that international regime theory is most relevant when combating this maritime problem. Due to the transnational nature of piracy, any realist-inspired solution would be inefficient. However, the analysis also uncovers a flaw in regime theory. While it helps to understand the creation of regimes, it does not explain how they are maintained. Maintenance of a regime requires leadership by countries involved. Hopefully, this finding will further the paper's theoretical contribution by encouraging regime theorists to revise the theory. With regards to piracy, the paper argues that the regimes' survival is dependent on acts of leadership, such as those exhibited by the EU and US.
From a policy standpoint, the protection regime should form the backbone of the international community's anti-piracy response. Although the ability to apprehend and prosecute pirates should exist to increase the deterrence effect of the response, the risks and difficulties associated with these actions are great enough that more resources should be placed in efforts meant to protect merchant vessels.
Ultimately, the insights gained have shown that regimes built around supranational coordination and international cooperation are essential for dealing with this maritime problem. If the data supports the preliminary judgment of the regimes, a similar international legal and enforcement mechanism needs to be put in place to tackle piracy in other areas, especially in the West coast of Africa. Moreover, the paper's findings have laid the groundwork for future research concerning the creation of regimes to deal with stateless phenomena.
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