PiraT is a project by a consortium of German academic institutions that have been funded by the German Government, to the tune of almost ‚¬1 million, to analyze the worldwide increase in maritime piratical attacks and the risks of terrorist attacks on “facilities of the maritime economy” in order “to develop a comprehensive concept for maritime security in which political risk analyses and technological security solutions are linked with legal and economic approaches.” The ultimate purpose of the Project is to devise “inter-agency governmental options for action that will enable the implementation of non-military measures to strengthen maritime trade security.” The Project has issued PiraT Newsletter No. 1 in both English and German.
The inaugural four-page issue of the Newsletter has three articles and a short list of recent publications by Project staff and partners. The first article reports on the kick-off meeting of the Project in July. The second article summarizes the Project’s first Working Paper. The final article describes the Project’s websites (English and German) and how to access various categories of information.
Working Paper on Maritime Security No. 1, by Hans Georg Ehrhart, Kerstin Petretto & Patricia Schneider, is entitled “Security Governance als Rahmenkonzept für die Analyse von Piraterie und maritimen Terrorismus—Konzeptionelle und Empirische Grundlagen.” According to my rather rusty German skills, the title translates to “Security Governance as a Framework for the Analysis of Piracy and Maritime Terrorism—Conceptual and Empirical Foundations.” Currently, this Working Paper is only available for download in German—except for a one-page Executive Summary in English included in it. In case you were wondering, Security Governance refers to something along the lines of “a collective security guarantee created by a large number of governmental and non-state actors, in a non-hierarchical relationship to each other, using various resources, tools, and methods on the basis of shared norms, values and / or interests to achieve a common goal.” (My translation)
The authors conclude “firstly, that maritime violence needs enhanced coordinated and differentiated strategies of state and non-state actors alike. Secondly, the concept of “Security Governance” offers a promising and yet still to be refined conceptual framework within the interdisciplinary joint research project PiraT.”
The full name of the PiraT Project is “Piratie und maritimer Terrorismus als Herausfoderungen für die Seehandelssicherheit: Indikatoren, Perzeptionen und Handlungsoptionen.” The Project renders this in English as “Piracy and Maritime Terrorism as a Challenge for Maritime Trade Security: Indicators, Perceptions and Options for Action,” although the German actually refers to Challenges. The consortium is made of as the following “Senior Scientific Partners:”
the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg (IFSH) (Project leader and coordinator)
the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), Berlin
the Hamburg-Harburg University of Technology (TUHH)
the Bucerius Law School (BLS), Hamburg
the Institute for Strategic Future-analysis (ISFA) of the Carl-Friedrich-von-Weizsäcker-Foundation (subcontractor of the IFSH)
“Associated Partners” include:
the German Shipowners’ Association (VDR)
the German Insurance Association (GDV)
the German Section of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
the JWA Marine Ltd the Criminological Institute 11, Terrorism/Extremism Research Unit (KI11 FTE)
the German Police Federation (GdP)
The Project hopes to provide a forum in which political, business, and academic types “can exchange views and share knowledge on maritime trade security.” The Project is scheduled to end in December 2012. NOTE: This post may be copied, distributed, and displayed and derivative works may be based on it, provided it is attributed to Maritime Transportation Security News and Views by John C. W. Bennett, http://mpsint.com
