Counter Piracy Off Somalia; A Case for Applying the Comprehensive Approach Strategy
2011
Termansen, Dan B.
Some argue for a robust military solution inside Somalia to counter the piracy problem while others maintain that the problem is not at all suited for employing military force. Many articles focus on the impact of piracy on the International Shipping. Only very few take a holistic view on the issue, and discuss 2. or 3. order consequences of piracy in the area as a whole. Counter Piracy Operations have been going on for some years but, so far, only military means have been employed by the international community to counter piracy in the region. No unified holistic strategy has been applied, even though there seems to be consensus that the root causes are found in Somalia itself. With a holistic focus on the piracy issue off the coast of Somalia, this paper will analyze the root causes of piracy, the actors to influence, the Push-Pull factors and balance of risk involved. The paper identifies that the international community has so far primarily addressed the Pull factors focusing on naval force, disrupting pirate camps and law enforcement while leaving the Push Factors ashore largely unaddressed. Looking towards Afghanistan, the paper suggests employing elements in NATO's Comprehensive Approach in order to address all factors driving piracy, and recommends a design for how the Comprehensive Approach can be applied to the case of Somalia. The paper combines the current military efforts on Counter Piracy with a local civilian support to the Somali costal population primarily in Northeastern Somalia in a mutually supportive way From the Sea suggesting a naval PRT construction supporting Ink Blots of engagements ashore. In contrast to Afghanistan, the suggested Comprehensive Approach is applied bottom up, because it is focused only to counter piracy leaving the strategic effort to restore governance in Somalia to another time horizon.
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