Political Geographies of Piracy : Constructing Threats and Containing Bodies in Somalia

I would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their experiences, knowledge, perspectives, and opinions with me throughout the research, writing, and revisions of this book. Without their support, this book would not have been possible. I would like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to Dr. Rachel Silvey for her patience, guidance, mentorship, and friendship. Dr. Silvey's intellectual brilliance is matched only by her genuinely good nature, warm personality, and limitless enthusiasm. I would also like to thank Dr. Political Geographies of Piracy examines the new security-development framework for combating piracy off the coast of Somalia. It demonstrates how counter piracy actors, particularly in the development sector, are reworking territorial sovereignties and reproducing markets of security and development in Somalia. Underlying onshore counter piracy strategies is a desire to both simultaneously secure and develop Somalia. However, the wider goal of these security-development strategies is to prevent and contain particular racialized and gendered actions and bodies on shore in Somalia. Drawing upon unique insider knowledge of the international counter piracy regime, Gilmer reveals the institutional machinations at stake in efforts to simultaneously combat and profit from Somali piracy. Research conducted on the ground in Somalia, and with convicted piracy prisoners detained in the Seychelles, also provides a rare glimpse into how security-development strategies for combating piracy are being promoted and resisted among various Somali communities (site de l'éditeur) This book examines the security-development framework for combating piracy off the coast of Somalia. It demonstrates how counter piracy actors, particularly in the development sector, are reworking territorial sovereignties and reproducing markets of security and development in Somalia. Underlying onshore counter piracy strategies is a desire to both simultaneously secure and develop Somalia. However, the wider goal of these security-development strategies is to prevent and contain particular racialized and gendered actions and bodies on shore in Somalia. Drawing upon insider knowledge of the international counter piracy regime, the author reveals the institutional machinations at stake in efforts to simultaneously combat and profit from Somali piracy. Research conducted on the ground in Somalia, and with convicted piracy prisoners detained in the Seychelles, also provides a rare glimpse into how security-development strategies for combating piracy are being promoted and resisted among various Somali communities Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Introduction....Pages 1-12 Setting the Stage: Studies, Geographies, and Approaches....Pages 13-28 State of Crisis: Rooting Piracy in Security and Development....Pages 29-47 Pirate Mania: Global Discourse, Unlikely Partnerships, and New Strategies....Pages 49-67 Behind Office Doors: Constructing Threats, Campaigns, and Identities....Pages 69-90 On the Ground in Somalia: Gender, Security, and Social Reproduction....Pages 91-109 At Sea and Inside Prisons: Marked Bodies, Mobilities, and Resistance....Pages 111-137 Pirate Pie: Political Economy, Piratization, and Institutional Survival....Pages 139-156 Beyond Intervention: Preventing Actions, Containing Bodies, and Making Profits....Pages 157-167 Back Matter....Pages 169-196 This book examines the increasing role of development organizations in securitization processes and argues that the new security-development counter piracy framework is (re)shaping political geographies of piracy by promoting disciplinary strategies aimed at the prevention and containment of gendered and racialized actions and bodies in Somalia.