Pirates, States and NaviesArticle by Bjørn Møller in MercatorSenior researcher Bjørn Møller of the Defence and Security unit has contributed an article on "Pirates, States and Navies – from the Days of Yore to the Present" to a special issue of the journal Mercator (March 2010) devoted to piracy. The article summarises how piracy (usually labelled 'privateering') has historically often been used by states to weaken their enemies. When an international convention of 1856 outlawed privateers (the United States remaining a non-signatory, reserving until the present day, the right to issue 'letters of marque' to privateers) state navies began emulating their former pirate contractors by raining each others' merchant fleets by means of their own navies. Even today, some states turn the blind eye to piracy, sometimes even condoning and 'taxing' rather than seeking to suppress it. |
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