Somaliska pirater - ett mycket litet problem: En undersökning av Sveriges arbete gällande frågan om somaliska pirater under 2009-2010.

Abstract

During 2009-2010 Sweden participated in an international military operation whose intention, according to the Swedish news media, was to fight Somali pirates. The purpose of this thesis is to study various decisions and documents behind the Swedish efforts, both military and foreign aid, regarding the matter of Somali pirates during the years 2009-2010 and analyze the results using an interpretation of the security-development-nexus-theory. The method used is text analysis based on the hermeneutic idea of understanding and interpretation.The thesis studies the international resolutions and national decisions that lead to the military operations in the Gulf of Aden and also the international strategies and national approaches regarding Sweden's assistance in the development of Somalia. The theoretical section contains an interpretation of the vast security-development-nexus-theory. The concepts of security and development are first presented separately and then collectively in terms of military security, societal security, economic security, regime security and human security. Thereafter follows a study of the decisions and documents behind Sweden's military, political, diplomatic and economical role in the security and development of Somalia. Beyond the military operations in the Gulf of Aden during 2009-2010 Sweden had a well-established cooperation with Somalia regarding development and worked actively together with other states to create multilateral aid strategies for Somalia. It is, however, difficult to say how the Swedish efforts relate to the security-development-nexus-theory since different interpretations result in different understandings. A benevolent interpretation results in the understanding that the Swedish efforts in Somalia both strengthened and complemented each other in a satisfactory manner. Still, the question remains whether this understanding has had any impact on the matter of Somali pirates and once again different interpretations result in different understandings. With the understanding that the phenomenon Somali pirates only is a product of a fragile state, with extensive poverty and unemployment, one can conclude that Swedish efforts had a positive effect on the matter. The results are, on the other hadn, based on benevolent interpretations and further research is therefore needed to assess their legitimacy.