Hijacked

Piracy and Economies of Protection in the Western Indian Ocean

Bibliographic Data

ID2109152
AuthorsJ Dua (0009-0004-2954-1166, University of Michigan, corresponding author)
Year2019
Volume61
Issue3
Pages479-507
Publication date2019-07-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueComparative Studies in Society and History (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0010-4175 • E-ISSN: 1475-2999
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0010417519000215
OpenAlexW2954660919
LanguageEN
Citations received21
References cited61

From 2007-2012, a dramatic upsurge in maritime piracy off the coast of Somalia captivated global attention. Over three hundred merchant vessels and some three thousand seafarers were held hostage with ransom amounts ranging from $200,000 to $10 million being paid to release these ships. Somali piracy operated exclusively on a kidnap-and-ransom model with crew, cargo, and ship held captive until a ransom was secured. Ransom, unlike theft or seizure, requires willing parties and systems of exchange. Ransom economies, therefore, bring together disparate actors and make visible the centrality of protection as a mode of accumulation and jurisdiction. As an analytic, this article proposes an anthropology ofprotectionto undercut divides between legality and illegality, trade and finance, piracy and counter piracy. It argues that protection is key to apprehending processes of mobility and interruption central to global capitalism

Business · Economics · Economy · International trade · Political science · Principle of legality · Ransom · Somali · Global Maritime and Colonial Histories · Law · Maritime Security and History · Sex work and related issues