Maritime Piracy

Abstract

This chapter outlines how theories of environmental criminology can inform our understanding of maritime piracy and assesses empirically how the incidence of maritime piracy is influenced by opportunities created by a maritime setting. The chapter is organized into three sections. The first section after the introduction discusses different periods of piracy, spanning ancient times, the Middle Ages, and up to present day. While the factors contributing to piracy in each age vary, there is a common explanation for how piracy has been quashed: establishing effective place management in the maritime realm. The second section focuses on some key constructs in environmental criminology and illustrates how they operate in a maritime setting. The concluding section deals with patterns that have been observed in maritime piracy in recent times.