State-Building, Informal Governance and Organised Crime

The Case of Somali Piracy

Bibliographic Data

ID6345156
AuthorsAnja Shortland (0000-0003-2460-9358, King's College London), Federico Varese (0000-0003-4258-4473, University of Oxford)
Year2016
Volume64
Issue4
Pages811-831
Publication date2016-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1467-9248.12227
OpenAlexW2141907295
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited31

This article argues that gangs, clans, mafias and insurgencies are, like states, forms of governance. This insight is applied to the case of Somali piracy and the article explores whether protectors of piracy were clearly distinct from pirates; and to what extent protectors coordinated their activities across the Somali coastland. It is shown that clan elders and Islamist militias facilitated piracy by protecting hijacked ships in their anchorages and resolving conflicts within and between pirate groups. Protection arrangements operated across clans, as illustrated by the free movement of hijacked ships along the coastline and the absence of re-hijacking after ransoms were paid. Piracy protection can be thought of as part of a continuum of protection arrangements that goes from mafias to legitimate states. The article concludes by highlighting the implications of the findings for the debate on state-building and organised crime

Clan · Corporate governance · Criminology · Economics · Law and economics · Management · Organised crime · Political economy · Political science · Sociology · Somali · State (computer science · Crime, Illicit Activities, and Governance · Law · Maritime Security and History · Sex work and related issues

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