Global Crime Governance - The Privatisation of Maritime Security

Private security firms are non-state actors who are increasingly assuming functions that have traditionally fallen within the exclusive purview of the military or other state authorities. These functions include armed deployments into crisis areas along with the deterrence and the prosecution of criminal acts.

Besides their operations on land, private security companies have become increasingly active at sea, such as by protecting trade vessels from pirate attacks through the use of armed escorts. The project “Global Crime Governance – The Privatisation of Maritime Security (2014-2019)” investigates maritime security risks, especially from piracy, and the role of private security companies in the fight against non-state violence at sea. This broader project is subdivided into two smaller ones: “Piracy in Southeast Asia” and “The Privatisation of Maritime Security”.

Piracy in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia has again become the region in the world with the highest number of pirate attacks – ten years after the last piracy boom in the region. The sub-project “Piracy in Southeast Asia” aims to examine the evolution of piracy in Southeast Asia, the measures which have been taken against piracy (successful or not), and whether or not piracy will remain a security risk for the region into the future. 

The Privatisation of Maritime Security

This sub-project investigates the past and present role of private security actors at sea, addressing the following core questions: What tasks have private security actors assumed at various points in time in the maritime area? What risks and opportunities does this process of privatization present? The contemporary part of this study focuses on private military and security companies (PMSCs) active in fighting piracy in Southeast Asia and Africa. It considers the legitimacy of these companies and addresses the issue of state control over the companies and their armed missions. The project also investigates whether new national and international governance institutions, including new approaches to governance through the participation of non-state actors, have emerged in the wake of this privatization process.
 

Project director:
  • Liss, Carolin
1
Challenging Sovereignty and State Control of Violence at Sea? | 2017

Liss, Carolin (2017): Challenging Sovereignty and State Control of Violence at Sea? The Operations of Private Anti-Piracy Security Providers, in: Gertheiss, Svenja/Herr, Stefanie/Wolf, Klaus Dieter/Wunderlich, Carmen (eds), Resistance and Change in World Politics. International Dissidence, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 79-108.

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2
Piracy and Maritime Violence in the Waters between Sabah and the Southern Philippines | 2017

Liss, Carolin (2017): Piracy and Maritime Violence in the Waters between Sabah and the Southern Philippines, in: Liss, Carolin/Biggs, Ted (eds), Piracy at Sea. Trends, Hot Spots and Responses, Milton Park: Routledge, 151–167.

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3
Piracy in Southeast Asia | 2017

Liss, Carolin (2017): Piracy in Southeast Asia. Trends, Hot Spots and Responses, in: Liss, Carolin/Biggs, Ted (eds), Piracy at Sea. Trends, Hot Spots and Responses, Milton Park: Routledge, 1–13.

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4
Conclusions | 2017

Liss, Carolin (2017): Conclusions, in: Liss, Carolin/Biggs, Ted (eds), Piracy at Sea. Trends, Hot Spots and Responses, Milton Park: Routledge, 168–174.

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5
Piracy at Sea | 2017

Liss, Carolin / Biggs, Ted (2017): Piracy at Sea. Trends, Hot Spots and Responses, Milton Park: Routledge.

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6
PMSCs in Maritime Security and Anti-piracy Control | 2016

Liss, Carolin (2016): PMSCs in Maritime Security and Anti-piracy Control, in: Leander, Anna/Abrahamsen, Rita (eds), Routledge Handbook of Private Security, Milton Park: Routledge, 61–69.

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7
Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Malaysia | 2015

Liss, Carolin (2015): Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Malaysia, in: Weiss, Meredith (ed.), Routledge Handbook of Contemporary Malaysia, Milton Park/New York: Routledge, 439-450.

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8
Assessing Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia | 2014

Liss, Carolin (2014): Assessing Contemporary Maritime Piracy in Southeast Asia. Trends, Hotspots and Responses, PRIF Report No. 125, Frankfurt/M.

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9
Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia | 2014

Liss, Carolin (2014): Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia. The role of Private Military and Security Companies, in: Heiduk, Felix (ed.), Moving from Policy to Practice: Security Sector Reform in Southeast Asia, Münster: LIT Verlag.

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10
Global Corporate Crime-Fighters | 2014

Liss, Carolin / Sharman, Jason (2014): Global Corporate Crime-Fighters. Private Transnational Responses to Piracy and Money Laundering, in: Review of International Political Economy, 22:4, DOI: 10.1080/09692290.2014.936482.

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11
The Privatisation of Maritime Security in Southeast Asia | 2013

Liss, Carolin (2013): The Privatisation of Maritime Security in Southeast Asia. The Impact on Regional Security Cooperation, in: Australian Journal of International Affairs, 68:2, DOI: 10.1080/10357718.2013.831810.

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