Abstract: It is often problematic for many West and Central African countries to effectively police their territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ’s). This trickles down to creating significant problems for indigenous communities, tourism, the economy and global security. The Gulf of Guinea (GoG) has been in the spotlight primarily for the ascendency in piratical activities, yet GoG states are beset with “seablindness” partly due to policies which are land-centric and with little or no interest in what goes on in the maritime domain. For them it is difficult to enforce sovereignty due to the area size and their navies inability to exhibit the required deterrent or muscle against forms of maritime insecurity that beset them. While there is an international presence such as EUNAVFOR in the Gulf of Aden, nothing of that nature exist in the Gulf of Guinea, instead in October 2011, Operation Prosperity was jointly formed by the navies of Nigeria and Benin to patrol their territorial waters. This paper analyzes the new wave of pirate attacks and its current and potential impact on maritime security. The three pronged players, namely the shipping vessels (targets), pirates (attackers) and Coast Guard or Navy (defenders) sets the stage to form and develop a game theory approach in making decisions as to utilize the scarce law enforcement resources that are available to Gulf of Guinea states in combating their Maritime Security challenges.
Keywords: Decision Making, Game Theory, Gulf Of Guinea, Maritime Domain, Maritime Security, Pirates.
Title: A Game Theoretic Approach to Maritime Security in the Gulf Of Guinea
Author: Nana Raymond Lawrence Ofosu-Boateng (Capt.)
International Journal of Social Science and Humanities Research
ISSN 2348-3156 (Print), ISSN 2348-3164 (online)
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