Keynote Speaker Prof. Abdi Ismail Samatar

Piracy in Somalia has been poorly understood and consequently the international strategy designed to curtail it has worked only partially. Because of this mismatch some of the pirates have extended their exploits deep into the Indian Ocean.

This lecture provides an analysis which shows that several pirate types driven by different logics have operated along the Somali coast and all but one of these pirates emerged as a result of Somali state’s disintegration. In contrast, pirates in other Third World regions operate under established states.

Therefore, we argue that piracy is not only a matter of robbery in the high seas, but that political economy/political ecology and conflict over resources has been fundamental to the rise of piracy in the region.

The lecture offers a more refined assessment of the piracy in the region as well as a critical appraisal of the moral economy of Somali pirates which yields an alternative method of understanding and curbing the problem.

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