Piracy the Somali Way

Piracy off the Horn of Africa represents a threat to regional stability and national security by contributing to the continuing state failure of Somalia. Somalia as a failed state represents a potential safe haven for terrorists and threatens the stability of the region. Unfortunately much of the public debate surrounding piracy has been clouded by past efforts of the international maritime community to declare piracy a major threat to global commerce. The reality is that piracy off the coast of Somalia is fundamentally different from piracy in the Strait of Malacca or anywhere else in the world. This difference has rendered much of the published academic and security writing on the topic of piracy obsolete.The United Nations and many member states have made bold declarations that something must be done about the pirates of Somalia. An international maritime coalition is currently fighting to contain the problem but cannot solve it. Many of the same nations who voice their opinions that action must be taken the loudest fail to acknowledge that the solution lies ashore, in establishing basic rule of law in Somalia. The world should have learned from the events of September 11, 2001 that failed states represent a threat to international security. Piracy is just one way that state failure in Somalia will affect regional and world stability.