ABSTRACT
Dr. Christian Bueger Reader in International Relations, Cardiff University
The 2012 animated comedy ‘The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!’ tells the story of an encounter between a pirate crew and a scientist, none other than Charles Darwin. This chapter tells the story of an encounter of experts with Somali pirates set roughly at the same time when the movie hit the cinemas. I recast how different constellations of Somali piracy expertise were assembled in response to the emerging problematic situations. My story is told from the inside out. I start with a range of personal reflections on how I assumed the role of a piracy expert and use a range of personal encounters with fellow experts and with the governors of counter-piracy to develop a narrative of how Somali piracy knowledge was made. The result is a narrative of how piracy knowledge has moved as the crisis unfolded and was increasingly managed. Following this life-cycle of the piracy crisis allows us to understand how different problematic situations assemble distinct expertise and how the expertise that matters changes over time.
