‘New wars’ at sea: A critical transformative approach to the political economy of Somali piracy

Abstract

Relying on the literature on the political economy of new wars, this article aims to challenge the policy articulation of Somali piracy through the security–development nexus in recent resolutions of the UN Security Council. The article’s central argument is that the UN Security Council’s assumption that the political economy of piracy can be transformed by external top-down intervention based on a formulaic security–development nexus seems to be bound to fail for two main reasons: First, the ‘nexus’ is based on a virtual liberal state-building project in Somalia that is disconnected from the local context involving piracy; second, the ‘nexus’ works as a securitized dispositif, hence prioritizing security goals over social changes. Therefore, instead of the liberal peace recipe proposed by the Security Council as remedy for everything, including piracy, the article suggests a critical transformative approach, centred in actually existing forms of local politics and governance in areas affected by piracy, where the articulation between security and development can be made in a more balanced and nuanced way, taking into account the concrete needs of protection and development of people dependent on piracy.