Piracy
- LAST REVIEWED: 26 August 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 26 August 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0123
- LAST REVIEWED: 26 August 2013
- LAST MODIFIED: 26 August 2013
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199743292-0123
Introduction
Piracy has plagued the oceans throughout human history. Increasing maritime trade flows have led to recurrent waves of piracy and armed robbery at sea. Piracy was always more than just a crime. It has been a constitutive problem for developing global order, for establishing the distinction between private violence and state violence, and for regulating global space from the Pax Britannica to the modern international law of the sea. Piracy is a problem not only of the past or of theory. Since the 1990s, the return of large-scale piracy in East Asia, the Horn of Africa, and other regions can be observed. In particular, piracy rooted in Somalia has received wide international attention. International security actors, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union (EU), or the UN Security Council, have become concerned about piracy. In consequence, since 2008 an international armada has patrolled the Horn of Africa. Contemporary piracy is increasingly recognized to be one of the major nontraditional security threats. It is a multidimensional issue, connected to concerns over state failure, arms trade, terrorism, transport, energy, and environmental security, as well as global maritime security. The goals of this article are, first, to familiarize the reader with works that examine the history of the concept and the practice of piracy in light of the development of global political order and international law. Second, the article encompasses literature on contemporary piracy and the international response to it, including contributions that theorize the causes of piracy as a conjecture of weak governance, opportunity, and cultural acceptability. Works that study the responses of global and regional security governance and that propose alternative policies of coping with piracy are also included. The main focus is on today’s two major hot spots of piracy, East Asia and the Horn of Africa.
General Overviews
Several titles provide general overviews. Comprehensive books focus on the history of piracy and piracy as a legal problem, or entail a survey of contemporary piracy. Konstam 2008 is a very accessible historical overview of the phenomenon of piracy from ancient times to the modern day. Heller-Roazen 2009 gives the most wide-ranging reconstruction of piracy as a concept in legal and political philosophy. An edited volume, Ellenman, et al. 2010 provides case studies of historical and contemporary piracy useful for introductory purposes. Kraska 2011 is the most comprehensive volume in terms of covering institutional responses to contemporary piracy. The Piracy Studies website provides an extended bibliography of academic titles on contemporary piracy useful to identify further literature.
Ellenman, Bruce A., Andrew Forbes, and David Rosenberg. Piracy and Maritime Crime: Historical and Modern Case Studies. Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, 2010.
A collection of twelve case studies on piracy covering different historical periods and regions. Includes discussions of the legal definition of piracy and of piracy in East Asia and in East and West Africa, which provide useful overviews of the discussion of the respective forms of piracy.
Heller-Roazen, Daniel. The Enemy of All: Piracy and the Law of Nations. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2009.
Provides a major reconstruction of the place of the concept of piracy in legal and political thought. The book argues that pirates have represented the universal foe throughout history and provides an extensive discussion of the role of piracy in the work of various thinkers from Cicero to contemporaries.
Konstam, Angus. Piracy: The Complete History. Oxford: Osprey, 2008.
The book gives the most accessible and comprehensive overview in tracing piracy throughout the centuries. Discusses ancient piracy, medieval piracy, the Barbary pirates, and the “golden age” of piracy and includes a discussion of piracy in fiction. The book ends in a very brief overview on contemporary piracy, but it is the strongest in its coverage of golden age piracy and drawing connections between different historical periods.
Kraska, James. Contemporary Maritime Piracy: International Law, Strategy, and Diplomacy at Sea. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, 2011.
The book places emphasis on contemporary responses. It includes a brief history of piracy and then proceeds to discuss the development of the law of the sea and piracy as a challenge to naval strategy and to diplomacy; gives a useful overview on the problems of prosecuting pirates. It contains an appendix with legal documents.
Piracy Studies: Academic Research on Maritime Piracy.
Provides a regularly updated, though not annotated, bibliography of academic literature that specializes in contemporary piracy across disciplines. With more than 240 titles, the bibliography demonstrates the growing interest that piracy has received in different disciplines since the late 2000s. The bibliography compiled by the piracy studies research group is a useful gateway to identify specialized literature.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Academic Theories of International Relations Since 1945
- Africa, The Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) in
- Alliances
- Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb
- Al-Shabaab
- Arab-Israeli Wars
- Arab-Israeli Wars, 1967-1973, The
- Armed Conflicts/Violence against Civilians Data Sets
- Arms Control
- Arms Races
- Arms Trade
- Asylum Policies
- Audience Costs and the Credibility of Commitments
- Authoritarian Regimes
- Balance of Power Theory
- Bargaining Theory of War
- Battle
- Boko Haram
- Brazilian Foreign Policy, The Politics of
- Canadian Foreign Policy
- Case Study Methods in International Relations
- Casualties and Politics
- Causation in International Relations
- Central Europe
- Challenge of Communism, The
- China and Japan
- China's Defense Policy
- China’s Foreign Policy
- Chinese Approaches to Strategy
- Cities and International Relations
- Civil Resistance
- Civil Society in the European Union
- Cold War, The
- Colonialism
- Comparative Foreign Policy Security Interests
- Comparative Regionalism
- Complex Systems Approaches to Global Politics
- Conflict Behavior and the Prevention of War
- Conflict Management
- Conflict Management in the Middle East
- Constructivism
- Contemporary Shia–Sunni Sectarian Violence
- Corruption
- Counterinsurgency
- Countermeasures in International Law
- Coups and Mutinies
- Criminal Law, International
- Crisis Bargaining
- Critical Theory of International Relations
- Cuban Missile Crisis, The
- Cultural Diplomacy
- Cyber Security
- Cyber Warfare
- Decision-Making, Poliheuristic Theory of
- Demobilization, Post World War I
- Democracies and World Order
- Democracy and Conflict
- Democracy in World Politics
- Deterrence Theory
- Development
- Diasporas
- Digital Diplomacy
- Diplomacy
- Diplomacy, Gender and
- Diplomacy, History of
- Diplomacy in the ASEAN
- Diplomacy, Public
- Disaster Diplomacy
- Diversionary Theory of War
- Drone Warfare
- Eastern Front (World War I)
- Economic Coercion and Sanctions
- Economics, International
- Embedded Liberalism
- Emerging Powers and BRICS
- Emotions
- Empirical Testing of Formal Models
- Energy and International Security
- Environmental Peacebuilding
- Epidemic Diseases and their Effects on History
- Ethics and Morality in International Relations
- Ethnicity in International Relations
- European Migration Policy
- European Security and Defense Policy, The
- European Union as an International Actor
- European Union, International Relations of the
- Experiments
- Face-to-Face Diplomacy
- Fascism, The Challenge of
- Feminist Methodologies in International Relations
- Feminist Security Studies
- Food Security
- Forecasting in International Relations
- Foreign Aid and Assistance
- Foreign Direct Investment
- Foreign Policy Decision-Making
- Foreign Policy of Non-democratic Regimes
- Foreign Policy of Saudi Arabia
- Foreign Policy, Theories of
- French Empire, 20th-Century
- From Club to Network Diplomacy
- Future of NATO
- Game Theory and Interstate Conflict
- Gender and Terrorism
- Gendering Disasters
- Gendering Forced Migration
- Genocide
- Genocide, Politicide, and Mass Atrocities Against Civilian...
- Genocides, 20th Century
- Geopolitics and Geostrategy
- Germany in World War II
- Global Citizenship
- Global Civil Society
- Global Constitutionalism
- Global Environmental Politics
- Global Ethic of Care
- Global Governance
- Global Justice, Western Perspectives
- Globalization
- Governance of the Arctic
- Grand Strategy
- Greater Middle East, The
- Greek Crisis
- Hague Conferences (1899, 1907)
- Hegemony
- Hezbollah
- Hierarchies in International Relations
- History and International Relations
- History of Brazilian Foreign Policy (1808 to 1945)
- Human Nature in International Relations
- Human Rights
- Human Rights and Humanitarian Diplomacy
- Human Rights, Feminism and
- Human Rights Law
- Human Security
- Hybrid Warfare
- Ideal Diplomat, The
- Idealism
- Identity and Foreign Policy
- Ideology, Values, and Foreign Policy
- Illicit Trade and Smuggling
- Imperialism
- Indian Foreign Policy
- Indian Perspectives on International Relations, War, and C...
- Indigenous Rights
- Industrialization
- Intelligence
- Intelligence Oversight
- Internal Displacement
- International Conflict Settlements, The Durability of
- International Criminal Court, The
- International Economic Organizations (IMF and World Bank)
- International Health Governance
- International Justice, Theories of
- International Law
- International Law, Feminist Perspectives on
- International Monetary Relations, History of
- International Negotiation and Conflict Resolution
- International Nongovernmental Organizations
- International Norms for Cultural Preservation and Cooperat...
- International Organizations
- International Relations, Aesthetic Turn in
- International Relations as a Social Science
- International Relations, Practice Turn in
- International Relations, Research Ethics in
- International Relations Theory
- International Security
- International Society
- International Society, Theorizing
- International Support For Nonstate Armed Groups
- Internet Law
- Interstate Cooperation Theory and International Institutio...
- Intervention and Use of Force
- Interviews and Focus Groups
- Iran, Politics and Foreign Policy
- Iraq: Past and Present
- Japanese Foreign Policy
- Jihadism
- Just War Theory
- Korean War
- Kurdistan and Kurdish Politics
- Law of the Sea
- Laws of War
- Leadership in International Affairs
- Leadership Personality Characteristics and Foreign Policy
- League of Nations
- Lean Forward and Pull Back Options for US Grand Strategy
- Liberalism
- Marxism
- Mediation and Civil Wars
- Mediation in International Conflicts
- Mediation via International Organizations
- Memory and World Politics
- Mercantilism
- Middle East, The Contemporary
- Middle East, The Contemporary
- Middle Powers and Regional Powers
- Military Science
- Minorities in the Middle East
- Minority Rights
- Morality in Foreign Policy
- Multilateralism (1992–), Return to
- National Liberation, International Law and Wars of
- National Security Act of 1947, The
- Nation-Building
- Nations and Nationalism
- NATO
- NATO, Europe, and Russia: Security Issues and the Border R...
- Natural Resources, Energy Politics, and Environmental Cons...
- Neorealism
- New Multilateralism in the Early 21st Century
- Nigeria
- Nonproliferation and Counterproliferation
- Nonviolent Resistance Datasets
- Normative Aspects of International Peacekeeping
- Normative Power Beyond the Eurocentric Frame
- Nuclear Proliferation
- Peace Education in Post-Conflict Zones
- Peace of Utrecht
- Peacebuilding, Post-Conflict
- Peacekeeping
- Piracy
- Political Demography
- Political Economy of National Security
- Political Extremism in Sub-Saharan Africa
- Political Learning and Socialization
- Political Psychology
- Politics and Islam in Turkey
- Politics and Nationalism in Cyprus
- Politics of Extraction: Theories and New Concepts for Crit...
- Politics of Resilience
- Popuism and Global Politics
- Popular Culture and International Relations
- Post-Civil War State
- Post-Conflict and Transitional Justice
- Post-Conflict Reconciliation in the Middle East and North ...
- Power Transition Theory
- Preventive War and Preemption
- Prisoners, Treatment of
- Private Military and Security Companies (PMSCs)
- Process Tracing Methods
- Pro-Government Militias
- Proliferation
- Prospect Theory in International Relations
- Psychoanalysis in Global Politics and International Relati...
- Psychology and Foreign Policy
- Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
- Public Opinion and the European Union
- Quantum Social Science
- Race and International Relations
- Realism
- Rebel Governance
- Reconciliation
- Reflexivity and International Relations
- Religion and International Relations
- Religiously Motivated Violence
- Reputation in International Relations
- Responsibility to Protect
- Rising Powers in World Politics
- Role Theory in International Relations
- Russian Foreign Policy
- Russian Revolutions and Civil War, 1917–1921
- Sanctions
- Sanctions in International Law
- Science Diplomacy
- Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), The
- Secrecy and Diplomacy
- Securitization
- Self-Determination
- Shining Path
- Sinophone and Japanese International Relations Theory
- Small State Diplomacy
- Social Scientific Theories of Imperialism
- Sovereignty
- Soviet Union in World War II
- Space Strategy, Policy, and Power
- Spatial Dependencies and International Mediation
- State Theory in International Relations
- Statehood
- Status in International Relations
- Strategic Air Power
- Strategic and Net Assessments
- Sub-Saharan Africa, Conflict Formations in
- Sustainable Development
- Systems Theory
- Teaching International Relations
- Territorial Disputes
- Terrorism
- Terrorism and Poverty
- Terrorism, Geography of
- Terrorist Financing
- Terrorist Group Strategies
- The Changing Nature of Diplomacy
- The Politics and Diplomacy of Neutrality
- The Politics and Diplomacy of the First World War
- The Queer in/of International Relations
- the Twenty-First Century, Alliance Commitments in
- The Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and Consular Relation...
- Theories of International Relations, Feminist
- Theory, Chinese International Relations
- Time Series Approaches to International Affairs
- Trade Law
- Transnational Actors
- Transnational Law
- Transnational Social Movements
- Tribunals, War Crimes and
- Trust and International Relations
- Turkey
- UN Security Council
- United Nations, The
- United States and Asia, The
- Uppsala Conflict Data Program
- US and Africa
- US–UK Special Relationship
- Venezuelan Politics and Foreign Policy
- Voluntary International Migration
- War
- War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714)
- Weapons of Mass Destruction
- Western Balkans
- Western Front (World War I)
- Westphalia, Peace of (1648)
- Women and Peacemaking Peacekeeping
- World Economy 1919-1939
- World Polity School
- World War II Diplomacy and Political Relations
- World-System Theory