Reports today that two U.S. citizens were seized by pirates off the coast of Nigeria are drawing international attention to the simmering problem of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.
In July, maritime security expert James Bridger wrote in a WPR briefing that the situation was getting out of control. "West Africa has now reached a tipping point," he wrote, "where the geographic expansion of pirate activity demands a coordinated response." He continued:
The region's capacity to respond to the threat is poor. Nigeria's limited capabilities are being sapped by the fight against violent groups such as Boko Haram, Bridger explained in April.
Keep reading for free!
Get instant access to the rest of this article by submitting your email address below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:
Or, Subscribe now to get full access.
Already a subscriber? Log in here .
What you’ll get with an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review:
A WPR subscription is like no other resource — it’s like having a personal curator and expert analyst of global affairs news. Subscribe now, and you’ll get:
- Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
- Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
- Regular in-depth articles with deep dives into important issues and countries.
- The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.
- The Weekly Review email, with quick summaries of the week’s most important coverage, and what’s to come.
- Completely ad-free reading.
And all of this is available to you when you subscribe today.