An investigation of maritime piracy and why it is so hard to police the oceans.

What is it about?

This book uses economics to describe the nature of maritime piracy using the assumption that pirates take into account threatened punishments in deciding whether to commit illegal acts. It also examines difficulties involved in organizing policing efforts, emphasizing weaknesses in international public law that allow countries to pick and choose whether to contribute in one way or another to policing efforts.

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Photo by Alex Brinkman on Unsplash

Photo by Alex Brinkman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This book is important because it explains why international public law is often so ineffectual - something that is of great concern in the study of international relations, political science and some areas of economics. The context in this book the difficulty countries face in trying to organize effective policing and punishments against pirates on the high seas. Recognition of the causes of these difficulties could lead the international community to organize more effective policing of the high seas. The question of punishments arises when (and if) pirates are arrested. A major issue is that countries making arrests don't want to handout appropriate sentences, largely because of the cost to them, once incurred, benefit other countries. All of this points the character of international public law that under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties allows signatories to pick and choose what international public laws to enforce. .

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