Short description:

This book is an overview of maritime piracy, examining threats that piracy poses to global security and commerce, as well as measures and policies to mitigate the threat.

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Long description:

Violence at Sea is an overview of maritime piracy, examining threats that piracy poses to global security and commerce, as well as measures and policies to mitigate the threat. The essays analyze piracy activities in key shipping lanes (including the African coast, the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Straits of Malacca-South China Sea); piratical groups and their capabilities; case studies on overlaps between piracy, terrorism, and organized crime; legal and policy hurdles to combating piracy; tactical recommendations for combating piracy; and new trends and developments in the area.

The counter response to maritime terrorism has been slow in coming, hampered by issues rooted in sovereignty, the laws of the sea, and the inherent challenges of international coordination. Yet given the likelihood that threats posed by piracy will not recede, but rather increase, all actors affected by maritime security will, sooner or later, need to address these challenges.

"This is undoubtedly one of the best studies on modern piracy - both in terms of analysis and clarity of presentation - that has been published in recent years.  It provides a variety of approaches and assessments, is well written and thankfully devoid of pretentious attempts to reduce the topic to a series of boring generalizations.  The authors offer no grand generalizations but they do provide a gold mine of information, expert opinion and a collection of works that should encourage future studies.  The authors do not necessarily agree with one nother but they proivide an excellent introduction to an issue that impinges on the lives of us all." - Kenneth McPherson, Internationl Journal of Maritime History (Vol. XX, No.1)

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Table of Contents:

Preface Scott Campbell  Introduction: The New "Pirate Wind Peter Lehr  Location of the Threats: Regional Perspectives  1. Piracy in the Indian Ocean: The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal Lt. Cdr.Vijay Sakhuja  2. Piracy in Southeast Asian Waters: Current Trends Gerard Ong  Nature of the Threats: Tactics, Capabilities and Groups  3. Complex Piracy at Sea Rupert Herbert-Burns  4. Organized Crime, Piracy and Terrorism in Asia Peter Lehr  5. The Abu Sayyaf Group: Pirates or Terrorists? Rommel C. Banlaoi  6. GAM?s Operation off the Coast of Sumatra Jeffrey Chen  Responses: International Law, Politics and Tactics  7. Piracy and the UN?s Law of the Sea Convention Martin Murphy  8. Multilateral Approaches to Combating Piracy at Sea Chris Rahman  9. Policing at Sea: Tactical Aspects Doug MacKinnon  10. Confronting Pirate Groups on Land Joon Num Mak  11. Tactical Approaches: Modern Security Technology and Private Security Firms  Martin Shakespeare  Outlook: The New Threat of Maritime Terrorism Sam Bateman

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