Abstract
In a short period of time stretching from 2010 to 2012, international guidance was issued, industry guidelines were re-written, and national laws were changed for the purposes of enhancing maritime security through armed private security provision. Having previously been shunned by ship-owners and national government alike, armed private security contractors are today considered legitimate security providers on board ships transiting piracy-infested waters. Recognizing the global shift in practice and perception, the article analyses the global governance arrangement surrounding the resort to armed private security in the maritime domain for the purpose of casting new light on private and public governance capacities. By doing so, the article also challenges implicit perceptions of maritime governance as distinct from land-based governance. In the maritime governance arrangement under scrutiny, public actors neither row nor steer; rather, they facilitate security governance by carving out privileged spheres for commercial industries through their convening capacities, regulatory infrastructure and legitimizing role. The facilitation by public actors of private actors in the governance arrangement surrounding private maritime security denotes both an active and passive reaction to changes in the globalized security environment in order remain relevant in contemporary security politics, also referred to as the ‘globalization paradox’. The findings highlight the truly global impact of evolving governance dynamics, and the changing relationship between private and public governors.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
It is important to stress that the use of armed guards is not a new feature in the maritime industry. However, the official recognition of the practice is new [2], and this very recognition and following legalization created a measurable increase in the number of armed transits as documented by Dutton [1]. It is difficult, however, to say exactly how widespread the practice was before the 2010–2012 official recognition (see [3]).
For comprehensive overview of flag-state regulations, see the overview provided by the ICS [84].
References
Dutton, Y. (2013). Gunslingers on the high seas: a call for regulation. Duke Journal of Comparative & International Law, 24(1), 107–160.
Roundtable of International Shipping Associations (2011). Letter for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Available at: https://www.bimco.org/~/media/About/Press/2011/Letter_to_Ban_Ki-Moon_-_Piracy.ashx. Accessed 28 Nov 2014.
Cullen, P. (2012). Surveying the market in maritime private security services. In C. Berube & P. Cullen (Eds.), Maritime private security. Market responses to piracy, terrorism, and waterborne security risks in the twenty-first century (pp. 25–37). London: Routledge.
Agnew, A. (1994). The territorial trap: the geographical assumptions of international relations theory. Review of International Political Economy, 1(1), 53–80.
Leander, A. (2010). Practices (Re)producing orders: understanding the role of business in global security governance. In M. Ougaard (Ed.), Business and global governance (pp. 57–78). Abingdon: Routledge.
Owens, P. (2008). Distinctions, distinctions: ‘public’ and ‘private’ force. International Affairs, 84(2), 977–990.
Walker, R. B. J. (1993). Inside/ outside: international relations as political theory. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Williams, M. C. (2010). The public, the private and the evolution of security studies. Security Dialogue, 41(6), 1–8.
Avant, D. D., Finnemore, M., & Sell, S. K. (2010). Who governs the globe? New York: Cambridge University Press.
Jessop, B. (2002). Globalization and the national state. In S. Aaronowitz & P. Bratsis (Eds.), Paradigm lost: state theory reconsidered (pp. 185–220). Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Bieling, H.-J. (2007). On the other side of the coin: conceptualizing the relationship between business and the state in the age of globalisation. Business & Politics, 9(3), 5.
Behr, H. (2008). Deterritorialisation and the transformation of statehood: the paradox of globalisation. Geopolitics, 13(2), 359–382.
Cowen, D. (2014). The deadly life of logistics. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Cutler, C. A. (1999). Private authority in international trade relations: the case of maritime transport. In C. A. Cutler, V. Haufler, & T. Porter (Eds.), Private authority and international affairs (pp. 283–332). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Steinberg, P. (2001). The social construction of the ocean. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Steinberg, P. (2009). Sovereignty, territory, and the mapping of mobility: a view from the outside. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 99(3), 467–495.
Colás, A., & Mabee, B. (2010). The flow and ebb of private seaborn violence in global politics: lessons from the Atlantic world, 1689–1815. In A. Colás & B. Mabee (Eds.), Mercenaries, pirates, bandits and empires: private violence in historical context (pp. 83–106). New York: Columbia University Press.
Leira, H., & de Carvalho, B. (2010). Privateers of the North sea: At worlds end. In A. Colás & B. Mabee (Eds.), Mercenaries, pirates, bandits and empires: private violence in historical context (pp. 55–82). New York: Columbia University Press.
Thompson, J. (1994). Mercenaries, pirates and sovereigns. Princeton University Press.
Ritchie, R.C. (1997). Government measures against piracy and privateering in the Atlantic area, 1750–1850. In D. J. Starkey, E. S. van Eyck van Heslinga, J. A. de Moor (Eds.) Pirates and privateers: new perspectives on the war on trade in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Exeter: University of Exeter Press.
Berube, C., & Cullen, P. (Eds.) (2012). Maritime private security. market responses to piracy, terrorism, and waterborne security risks in the twenty-first century. London: Routledge.
Florquin, N. (2012). Escalation at sea: Somali piracy and private security companies. In Small Arms Survey (Ed.) Small arms survey 2012: moving targets (pp. 190–217). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Murphy, M. (2009). Small boats, weak states, dirty money: piracy and maritime terrorism in the modern world. London: Hurst and Company.
Petrig, A. (2014). Human rights and law enforcement at sea: arrest, detention and transfer of piracy suspects. Leiden: Koninklijke Brill.
Abrahamsen, R., & Williams, M. C. (2011). Security Beyond the State. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Cutler, C. A. (1997). Artifice, ideology, and paradox: the public/private distinction in international trade law. Review of International Political Economy, 4(2), 261–285.
Cutler, C. A. (2003). Private power and global authority. Cambridge University Press.
Hall, R. B., & Biersteker, T. J. (Eds.) (2002). The emergence of private authority in global governance. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Sassen, S. (2003). Globalization or denationalization. Review of International Political Economy, 10(1), 1–22.
Sassen, S. (2006). Territory, authority, rights: from medieval to global assemblages. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Dupont, B. (2004). Security in the age of networks. Policing and Society, 14(1), 76–91.
Guzzini, S., & Neumann, I. (Eds.) (2012). The diffusion of power in global governance. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Best, J., & Gheciu, A. (Eds.) (2014). The return of the public in global governance. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Loader, I., & Walker, N. (2007). Civilizing security. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Wood, J., & Shearing, C. D. (2006). Imagining security. Devon: Willan Publishing.
Abrahamsen, R., & Williams, M. C. (2007). Security the City: Private Security Companies and Non-State Authority in Global Governance. International Relations, 21(2), 237–253.
Abrahamsen, R., & Williams, M. C. (2009). Security Beyond the State: Global Security Assemblages in International Politics. International Political Sociology, 3, 1–17.
Berndtsson, J., & Stern, M. (2011). Private security and the public-private divide: contested lines of distinction and modes of governance in the Stockholm-Arlanda security assemblage. International Political Sociology, 5, 408–425.
Biaumet, G. (2016). The sentinel and the rebel. Multi-choice policing in Burundi and the state-centered approach of security sector reform. Crime, Law and Social Change. doi:10.1007/s10611-016-9654-2
Hönke, J. (2013). Transnational companies and security governance: hybrid practices in a postcolonial world. London and. New York: Routledge.
Schouten, P. (2014). Security as controversy: reassembling security at Amsterdam airport. Security Dialogue, 45(1), 23–42.
Salter, M. (Ed.) (2009). Politics at the airport. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.
Green, J. F. (2014). Rethinking private authority: agents and entrepreneurs in global governance. Princeton University Press.
Struett, M., Carlson, J. D., & Nance, M. (Eds.) (2013). Maritime Piracy and the Construction of Global Governance. New York and London: Routledge.
IMB - International Maritime Bureau (2007). Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, report for the period 1 January – 31 December 2006. London: ICC International Maritime Bureau. Report requested from: https://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/request-piracy-report on 31.10.14. x.
IMB - International Maritime Bureau (2012). Piracy and Armed Robbery Against Ships, report for the period 1 January – 31 December 2011, London: ICC International Maritime Bureau. Report requested from: https://www.icc-ccs.org/piracy-reporting-centre/request-piracy-report on 31.10.14. x.
Oliveira, G. C. (2013). New wars’ at sea: a critical transformative approach to the political economy of Somali piracy. Security Dialogue, 44(1), 3–18.
Kraska, . J. (2013). International and comparative regulation of private maritime security companies employed in counter-piracy. In D. Guildfoyle (Ed.), Modern piracy: legal challenges and responses (pp. 19–249). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited.
Pristrom, S., Li, K. X., Yang, Z., & Wang, J. (2013). A study of maritime security and piracy. Maritime Policy & Management, 40(7), 675–693.
Pittney Jr., J. J., & Levin, J. C. (2013). Private anti-piracy navies: how warships for hire are changing maritime security. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Safety4Sea (2011). Industry Guidelines regarding the use of Private Maritime Security Contractors, 20.05.2011: http://www.safety4sea.com/industry-guidelines-regarding-the-use-of-private-maritime-security-contractors--4073. Accessed 20 April 2015.
SAMI - Security Association for the Maritime Industries (2014). The Evolution of the Security Association for the Maritime Industry (SAMI) and piracy in the Indian Ocean. Lessons from Piracy. Available at: http://www.lessonsfrompiracy.net/files/2014/06/DRAFT-The-Evolution-of-the-Security-Association-for-the-Maritime-Industry-8-May-14.pdf. Accessed 10 Sept 2014.
Best Management Practice 4 (2011). Best Management practices for Protection against Somali Based Piracy. Version 4, August 2011. Edinburgh: Witherby Seamanship International Ltd.
Best Management Practice 3 (2010). Best Management Practice 3. Piracy off the Coast of Somali and Arabian Sea Area. Version 3, June 2010. Edinburgh: Witherby Seamanship International Ltd.
Brown, J. (2012). Pirates and privateers: managing the Indian oceans private security. Pirates and Privateers: Managing the Indian Ocean’s Private Security Boom. Lowy Institute for International Policy, September 2012. http://www.lowyinstitute.org/files/brown_pirates_and_privateers_web.pdf. Accessed 05 Oct 2014.
Lobo-Guerrero, L. (2008). Pirates,” stewards, and the securitization of global circulation. International Political Sociology, 2(3), 219–235.
Miller, J. (2009). Piracy causes changes in routes, insurance. The Wall Street Journal, 9 April. Available at: http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123923616654003355. Accessed 10 Oct 2014.
JWC - Joint War Committee (2010). Increased Range of Somali-Based Piracy. JW2010/009, 16th December 2010.
Liss, C. (2009). Privatization of maritime security in Southeast Asia. In T. Jäger & G. Kümmel (Eds.) Private military and security companies: chances, problems, pitfalls and prospects. Springer Science & Business Media.
Aegis (2015). Services – Aegis Maritime. Available at: http://www.aegisworld.com/service/maritime/. Accessed 01 Dec 2014.
Carmola, C. (2010). Private military companies and new wars: risk, law & ethnics. London: Routledge.
Bures, O. & Carrapico, H. (2016). Private security beyond private military and security companies: exploring diversity within private-public collaborations and its consequences for security governance. Crime, Law and Social Change. doi:10.1007/s10611-016-9651-5
Pfeifer, S. (2009). Aegis sets sights on foiling pirates off Somali coast. Financial Times, 21 April. Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6b6020fa-2e0b-11de-9eba-00144feabdc0.html?ft_site=falcon&desktop=true#axzz4LyBXb11x. Accessed 05 Oct 2014.
MSC - Maritime Safety Committee (2011). Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its Eighty-ninth Session. MSC 89/25, 27.05.11. London: IMO.
IMO – International Maritime Organization (2015a). Private Armed Security. Available at: http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Security/PiracyArmedRobbery/Pages/Private-Armed-Security.aspx. Accessed 30 Dec 2015.
IMO - International Maritime Organization (2012b). Revised Interim Guidance for Flag States Regarding the use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on board Ships in the High Risk Area. IMO Doc.MSC.1/Circ.1406/Rev.2. London: IMO.
IMO - International Maritime Organization (2012c). Revised Interim Guidance to Ship owners, Ship Operators and Ship Masters on the use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on Board Ships in the High Risk Area. IMO Doc. MSC.1/Circ.1405/Rev2. London: IMO.
IMO - International Maritime Organization (2011). Interim Recommendations for Port and Coastal States Regarding the Use of Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on Board Ships in the High Risk Area. IMO Doc.MSC.1/Circ.1408. London: IMO.
IMO - International Maritime Organization (2012a). Interim Guidance to Private Maritime Security Companies Providing Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel on Board Ships in the High Risk Area. IMO Doc.MSC.1/Circ.1443. London: IMO.
Klinkenberg, I. K. (2013). Pirates Versus Private Security Companies – A road to safety or insecurity at sea. Unpublished MA dissertation. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Department of Nograric.
Grewal, T. (2008). International ship safety regulations. In W. Talley (Ed.), Maritime safety, security and piracy. London: Informa Law.
International Transport Federation Defining FOCs and the Problems they Pose. Available at: http://www.itfseafarers.org/defining-focs.cfm. Accessed 3 Jan 2015.
Van Hespen, I. (2014). Protecting Merchant Ships from Maritime Piracy by Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel: A Comparative Analysis of Flag Stat Legislation and Port and Coastal State Requirements. Journal of Maritime Law & Commerce, 45(3), 361–400.
IMO - International Maritime Organization (2015). Member States, NGOs and IGOs. Available at: http://www.imo.org/en/About/Membership/Pages/Default.aspx. Accessed 23 May 2015.
ICS - The International Chamber of Shipping (2014). John Stawpert, Manager Environment and Trade 02.10.14.
IMO - The International Maritime Organization (2014). Sascha Pristrom and Henrik Madsen, Technical Officers, 1.09.14.
MSC - Maritime Safety Committee (2012). Guidance for private maritime security companies agreed by IMO’s Maritime Safety Committee. Briefing: 17, 25.05.12. Available at: http://www.imo.org/MediaCentre/PressBriefings/Pages/17-msc-90-piracy.aspx#.VMv8EC4YG5I. Accessed 20 Jan 2015.
ISO - International Standardization Organization (2013). Ships and marine technology — Guidelines for Private Maritime Security Companies (PMSC) providing privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) onboard ships (and pro forma contract), ISO/PAS 28007. Geneva: ISO, 2013.
SCEG – Security in Complex Environments Group (2015). Accredited Certification for PSC1/ISO 18788 and ISO 28007, available at: https://www.adsgroup.org.uk/pages/95837038.asp. Accessed 5 Aug 2014.
MSC - Maritime Safety Committee (2014). Report of the Maritime Safety Committee on its Ninety-fourth Session. MSC 94/21, 26.11.2014. London: IMO.
Lloyd’s Register LRQA (2014). Your guide to implementing ISO/PAS 28007. Coventry: Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Limited, May 2014.
SCEG - The Security in Complex Environments Group (2014). Paul Gibson, Director, 1.09.14.
Siebels, D. (2014). International standards for the private security industry. The RUSI Journal, 159(5), 76–83.
ICS - International Chamber of Shipping (2013). Comparison of flag state laws on armed guards and arms on board. Available at: http://www.ics-shipping.org/docs/default-source/Piracy-Docs/comparison-of-flag-state-laws-on-armed-guards-and-arms-on-board3F9814DED68F.pdf?sfvrsn=0. Accessed 10 Jan 2015.
Hansen, S. J. (2012). The evolution of best management practices in the civil maritime sector. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 35(7–8), 562–569.
SAMI - The Security Association for Maritime Industries (2014). Peter Cook, CEO, 2.09.14.
Hirst, O., & Thompson, G. (1992). The problem of “globalization”: International economic relations, national conomic management and the formation of trading locks. Economy and Society, 21, 357–396.
xxx (2016). Who governs Norwegian maritime security? Public facilitation of private security in a fragmented security environment. Cooperation and Conflict (forthcoming 2016).
Mabee, B. (2003). Security studies and the ‘security state’: security provision in historical context. International Relations, 17(2), 135–151.
Barrows, S. (2009). Racing to the top…at last: the regulation of safety in shipping. In W. Mattli & N. Woods (Eds.), The politics of global regulation (pp. 189–210). Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Carrapico, H. & Farrand, B. (2016). Dialogue, partnership and empowerment for network and information security’: the changing role of the private sector from objects of regulation to regulation shapers. Crime, Law and Social Change. doi:10.1007/s10611-016-9652-4
Bures, O. (2016). Contributions of private businesses to the provision of security in the EU: beyond public-private partnerships. Crime, Law and Social Change. doi:10.1007/s10611-016-9650-6
Bueger, C. (2015). What is maritime security? Marine Policy, 53, 159–164.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Aarstad, Å. Maritime security and transformations in global governance. Crime Law Soc Change 67, 313–331 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-016-9656-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10611-016-9656-0