The War for Muddy Waters: Pirates Terrorists Traffickers and Maritime Insecurity

The War for Muddy Waters: Pirates Terrorists Traffickers and Maritime Insecurity
ISBN-10
1682474208
ISBN-13
9781682474204
Category
History
Pages
264
Language
English
Published
2019-06-15
Publisher
US Naval Institute Press
Author
Joshua Tallis

Description

Historically maritime security focuses on individual threats (e.g. piracy terrorism narcotics etc.) and individual measures to target them (e.g. counter-piracy counter-terrorism counter-narcotics). This book explores for the first time an overall strategy for maritime security integrating these issues into a single framework. To do so the book begins with the observation that maritime security operations often have more in common with crime than war. We are therefore led to ask what lessons might the maritime services take from the study of policing in addition to the more traditional sources of naval strategy? In particular what insights might the maritime services glean from community policing and associated theories like Broken Windows?To help answer those questions Tallis explores two central themes derived from their study. First maritime security is multidimensional. Individual threats networks or crimes cannot be viewed in isolation--countering piracy for example should not be seen in opportunity costs to counter illegal fishing. Second maritime security is context-specific and community-based. The relationship between local communities and local authorities their sense of agency and the type of policing to which they are subjected can all breed insecurity. These themes are then tested and validated across three case studies: the Caribbean the Gulf of Guinea and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore.This exploration yields several findings. First as maritime security threats rise in sophistication it will be increasingly appealing to apply military resources to counter them. However military operations and peacetime constabulary missions often require patently different ways of interacting with communities. Maritime forces must pay careful attention that the use of military resources does not inherently include the use of militarized tactics. Second policymakers should elevate local partners. Just as police should let neighborhoods help set the enforcement agenda so too should maritime forces prioritize local objectives. Such objectives may vary from those of the U.S. which leads to the third consideration multidimensionality--maritime issues are interrelated. Partnership is not zero-sum and pursuing a local agenda helps ensure long-term buy-in from local authorities and communities. Finally do not neglect context and perceptions. Missions on the soft end of the spectrum are not as Tallis writes "ancillary to the broader strategic landscape but pivotal in its construction." In the littorals maritime forces routinely operate with and around communities. They should prioritize understanding and positively impacting local perceptions which is ultimately at the root of any community policing objective--the endeavor to help people feel as if they have a stake in their collective security.

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