In this contribution, the authors sketch an overview of the different initiatives taken by the international community to counter Somali piracy, as well as the different policy goals that are pursued. Five strategies are highlighted: protection and deterrence, law enforcement, capacity building, providing security and stabilization, and the unravelling of criminal financial networks. While the earliest responses uniquely focused on the ‘symptoms’ of piracy, some current countermeasures also take the root causes into account. This is reflected in the shift from a mainly sea-based approach to strategies that also incorporate land-based measures. The article demonstrates that each of these strategies has its own priorities that may at times be in conflict one with the other as well as with the overarching goal of countering piracy. The authors stress that in the implementation of the different strategies (including, but not limited to, the judicial one), it is important to take note of and be sensitive to the local context, and to take into account the possible contradictions, conflicts and synergies with other counter-piracy initiatives.
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