Washington's repeated attempts to bring peace to Somalia with state-building initiatives have failed, even backfired.

Listen to Bronwyn E. Bruton, international affairs fellow in residence at CFR, discuss her recent Foreign Affairs article, "In the Quicksands of Somalia," with students as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

Learn more about CFR's Academic Initiative.

CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says the U.S.-Ethiopia security partnership is undermining U.S. counterterror goals in Somalia. If the United States hopes to play a constructive role in Somalia, it must address democracy backsliding in Ethiopia, she says.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's seven-nation trip to Africa will highlight U.S. security concerns from Somalia to Nigeria and expand on efforts to engage leading African states on governance and trade issues.

Steven Simon discusses the investigation into twenty Americans who are believed to have joined a militant Islamist group in Somalia.

Micah Zenko argues that given the ineffectiveness of recent U.S. operations in Somalia, airstrikes against Somali pirates would be militarily and politically unsuccessful.

This briefing note, drawing on a meeting of a roundtable of experts held at Chatham House on 26 February 2009 by the Africa Programme and the International Law Discussion Group, clarifies some
of the legal concerns around combating piracy off the Somali coast.

CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says the United States will not be able to end piracy in Somalia by using force and should take a modest approach that avoids grand schemes to reconstruct the government.

CFR's Bronwyn Bruton says the United States should avoid grand schemes in its attempts to fight piracy in Somalia.

Even as gunboats from across the globe move into their waters, the desperate, well-armed, and increasingly bold bandits of Somalia keep swarming the decks of the world's largest ships. They take what they want, they don't leave until the (higher and higher) ransoms are paid, and they won't stop until a modern-day war against piracy breaks out.

Forget Iran, Iraq, and North Korea--Bush's "Axis of Evil." As economic calamity meets political and social turmoil, the world's worst problems may come from countries like Somalia, Russia, and Mexico. And they're just the beginning, says Niall Ferguson.

Jeffrey Gettleman describes Somalia's chaos based on his own experiences there over the last two and a half years as a reporter.

Ken Menkhaus says the new U.S. national security team must implement a long-term strategy in Somalia.

International coordination is key to countering modern-day freebooters, say James Kraska and Brian Wilson.

The terrorists who struck Mumbai, India, in November 2008 represent a new breed of tech-savvy militants. Law-enforcement officials face a challenge in keeping pace.

United Nations Security Council Resolution 1846, regarding repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea off the coast of Somalia, was adopted on December 2, 2008.

Bronwyn Bruton considers U.S. - Somalian relations with the world's status quo.

This is a brief on the piracy issue in Somalia.

Session One of a Council on Foreign Relations Symposium on International Law and Justice: Evolving Norms and U.S. Responses.