The Stateless Navy?

On io9.com the writer brought up an interesting question about the piracy we are seeing today. Could pirates become an army for the stateless?

Sea-going piracy is back, and is likely to grow into the foreseeable future as government controls in countries like Somalia weaken. Late last year, the BBC reported that pirates are working with radical Islamic groups in East Africa, helping them smuggle weapons and training them in maritime battle techniques. You could say piracy is a symptom of unstable governments and a growing population of people who are stateless. In the absence of national identity, it makes sense to claim a pirate identity, which has elements of tribalism and a kind of rogue internationalism.

It’s an interesting thought. During the 16th and 17th centuries England, France and the Netherlands commissioned pirates (Privateers) to conduct raids, fight battles and generally harass the powerful Spanish Fleet in the Caribbean without actually funding a large Navy. The Europeans also manged to turn a profit in the process.

Click on image for the IOC Live piracy map

It stands to reason, that this trend will continue as small failing nation states and terrorists turn to piracy as a way to operate on the open seas. And turn a profit in the process. Via The BBC:

• Islamists have used the pirates to bring in arms shipments and foreign fighters, providing weapons and training in their use in return. They also help with bases from which the pirates operate
• Hardliners, known as the Shabab, now have a degree of control over several pirate groups and provide operating funds and specialist weapons in return for a share of the ransoms being paid to free the ships and crew
• As many as 2,500 young Somalis have been trained by the Shabab at points all along the Somali coast
• The Islamists are using the pirates to train their own forces in naval tactics so that they can provide protection for arms being smuggled in Somalia from Eritrea.

It appears the small nation states and terrorists are leveraging pirates as a type of navy. Just like in the 17th century.

Technorati Tags: pirates, Africa, history

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