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Practice, Pirates and Coast Guards: the grand narrative of Somali piracy

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  • Christian Bueger

Abstract

In this article I develop a practice–theoretical account to provide the first systematic investigation of the justification of Somali piracy. Arguing for an understanding of piracy as a ‘community of practice’, I show how this community is organised by a ‘grand narrative’ that projects piracy as a quasi-state practice of the protection of sovereignty against foreign intruders. Paying attention to narrative provides an explanation for the persistence of piracy and assists us in understanding the phenomenon. Relying on publicly available interviews with pirates, I deconstruct this grand narrative and detail the different functions of the narrative in the light of situations in which it is told. The article develops an alternative perspective on piracy based on the study of practice, narrative and situation that provides new avenues for the study of clandestine, illicit or violent practices.

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  • Christian Bueger, 2013. "Practice, Pirates and Coast Guards: the grand narrative of Somali piracy," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(10), pages 1811-1827, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:34:y:2013:i:10:p:1811-1827
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2013.851896
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    Cited by:

    1. Katja Lindskov Jacobsen, 2019. "Poly‐criminal Pirates and Ballooning Effects: Implications for International Counter‐piracy," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 10(1), pages 52-59, February.
    2. Fawzi Banao & Bertrand Laporte, 2022. "Terrorism, Customs and fraudulent Gold exports in Africa," CERDI Working papers hal-03889094, HAL.
    3. Jablonski, Ryan S. & Oliver, Steven & Hastings, Justin V., 2017. "The Tortuga disease: the perverse effects of illicit foreign capital," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 67105, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Sara McLaughlin Mitchell & Cody J Schmidt, 2024. "Insecure fisheries: How illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing affects piracy," Conflict Management and Peace Science, Peace Science Society (International), vol. 41(3), pages 313-338, May.

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