Somali Piracy is Based Purely on Profits

There are many theories on why Somalia has become the world’s center of piracy, including the poverty hypothesis, the failed state hypothesis, or the Somali fishing piracy hypothesis, among others. Each upholds it’s only reasoning as to why piracy has escalated in the past 10 years and become detrimental to the international trade system. However, at the end of the day, I believe piracy is purely opportunistic and centered around the draw of economic gain.

            The poverty hypothesis states that piracy is seen as a means of survival for many who are suffering beneath the poverty line in weak or failing states such as Somalia. While this is most likely a contributing factor, this is not the only reason Somalia has fallen into piracy. This is also seen in the New York Times interview of Somali pirates. These statements were most likely aimed at tugging on the heartstrings of the Western world to justify their acts of piracy or make it more acceptable.

Poverty is widespread throughout the country, though piracy is only in certain sects. It is also very expensive to pursue piracy initially when factoring in the costs of owning and operating speed boats to access large ships, fuel costs, weapons, technology, hiring interpreters to negotiate with English speaking companies. From this perspective, better off countries would be in a better position to pursue piracy rather than weak Somalia.

            This leads us to the second hypothesis that piracy is allowed to flourish due to low legal enforcement and a weak or nonexistent government. While weak enforcement of laws and a lack of conflict have created an enabling environment for piracy, it is not the only reason for piracy in Somalia. If this prediction were true, most failed states with coastline would engage in piracy of some sort though this is not the case. For example, Somaliland has weak government enforcement but little to no signs of piracy because it is extremely socially unacceptable. This speaks to the impact of the moral economy in a society and social policing rather than legal enforcement.

            Some say that Somali piracy started with Somali fishers attacking foreign ships that were infringing on their fishing rights. Since there is little legal enforcement in Somalia, individuals taking the issue into their own hands is permissible. While this may be how piracy began, it is certainly not what is currently happening. Ships are being held ransom for months on end requesting millions of dollars, resulting in billions of dollars lost. This huge disruption is the main draw of piracy since ransom stories get international attention and are more likely to be profitable. Many piracy operations are operated in a capitalistic, business model with pirates competing over potential profits and pirates tend to entrepreneurial in essence.

            With all factors taken into account, I think it is justified to say that most piracy is pursued purely for opportunistic gains, much like wildlife or drug trafficking. Though these factors all contribute to why it is being sustained, I believe Somali pirates have capitalized on their geographic position and lack of legal enforcement to increase personal profits, much like a traditional business model. The most effective way to decrease piracy is to make it socially impermissible or instate international law, though this has many implications that need to be taken into account by the international community.