The act of piracy on the high seas and in territorial waters has become a very real and serious problem for many littoral states throughout the world. The practice of piracy has plagued littoral states for centuries, yet throughout both past and contemporary literature on the subject, there is no standard test that can viably estimate and predict the amount to which piracy rates would rise or fall in regards to a standard variable. This thesis examines three distinct regions throughout the world where piracy has been a notable problem, and where a substantial number of reported cases have occurred These cases have occurred due to a geographic chokepoint of traffic. The Gulf of Aden, the Caribbean Sea, and the Malacca Strait will serve as the three primary locations within which this thesis will adapt three independent variables in an attempt to establish a trend. The three independent variables that will be applied to the latter three regions are the amount of regional enforcement of anti-piracy strategies, the amount of international cooperation and enforcement of codified international laws, and the extent to which local economies, specifically coastal economies, are experiencing problems. Literature from both the past and present, including individual case studies have been used to determine the extent to which the previously mentioned independent variables relate to the amount of piracy in three distinct regions of the world. This study has established that there is a negative, coinciding relationship to each one of the independent variables and the rate to which piracy occurs, and the dependency of one variable on the other in any particular case.

Purpose - The objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of modus operandi ofmodern sea piracy by data existed in the relevant sources. A simple framework ofunderstating the subject is brought as the authors’ contribution.Design/methodology/approach – Analysis was done through constructing a databaseaccording to sea piracy reports of International Maritime Organization (IMO) website. It hascontinued by investigating in some of the economical, social and other parameters of somecountries with coastlines. In the end, it has introduced a framework of understanding of themodern sea piracy.Findings – Piracy has a long history, as an easy way of achieving commodities. In the lastdecade, there was an outbreak trend in East Africa region emerging Somalia pirates. In thebeginning of 2000s, there were South China Sea and Malacca Straits regions that were theimportant arena of pirates. Besides a weak and powerless government, bad economicalsituation, the main issue in East Africa piracy was the volume of the commodities that was(and is) transported via coasts of Horn of Africa.Practical implications- In this study, two research questions were followed: how the piracyattacks have been done and observing how some related countries look like.Research limitations/implications – Being a literature review, this thesis project is notresponsible for the correctness of the sources and not by any means if a company or anorganization uses its results or recommendations.Originality/value –Using valid sources, it is a unique work of authors; not manipulatingothers’ work; that has investigated those reports and addressed supplementary points thatenhance the understanding of the modus operandi and some state backgrounds of sea piratesin 2000s.Paper type – Case study / literature review. / Program: Magisterutbildning i Industriell ekonomi - logistik

This dissertation explores the growing field of study around Maritime Security. While an increasingly common sub-heading in American naval strategy documents, maritime security operations are largely framed around individual threats (i.e. counter-piracy, counter-terrorism, counter-narcotics). Here, we endeavor to explore how a seemingly disparate set of transnational issues fit into a more coherent framework to give greater theoretical substance to the notion of Maritime Security as a distinct concept. In particular, we examine, as our research question, whether the Broken Windows theory, a criminological construct of social disorganization, provides the lens through which to theorize maritime security in the littorals. By extrapolating from criminology, this dissertation engages with a small but growing impulse in studies on insurgencies, terrorism, and piracy to look beyond classic theories of security to better understand phenomena of political violence. To evaluate our research question, we begin by identifying two critical components of the Broken Windows theory, multidimensionality and context specificity. Multidimensionality refers to the web of interrelated individuals, organizations, and infrastructure upon which crime operates. Context specificity refers to the powerful influence of an individual or community's environment on behavior. These two themes, as explored in this dissertation, are brought into stark relief through an application of the Broken Windows theory. Leveraging this understanding of the theory, we explore our research question by employing process-tracing and detailed descriptions across three case studies (one primary and two illustrative)—the Caribbean Basin, the Gulf of Guinea, and the Straits of Malacca and Singapore. In so doing, we demonstrate how applying the lens that Broken Windows provides yields new and interesting perspectives on maritime security. As a consequence, this dissertation offers an example of a theoretical framework that provides greater continuity to the missions or threats frequently binned under the heading of maritime security, but infrequently associated with one another in the literature.