Higher education faces attack, erosion, under-funding and loss of capacity in contexts of armed conflict and state fragility. Losses in university capacities through casualties, injuries, and internal displacement or forced migration are difficult to compensate for due to the degree of investment required to restore or lay new foundations for quality teaching and research, while attacks on universities may also discourage learners from attending tertiary education. Drawing upon a research and capacity development project in Somaliland, we propose a global strategy for higher education partnerships in teaching, research and development with practical outcomes in the area of education, conflict and peacebuilding. This strategy would address research and pedagogical training needs for higher education teachers; develop educational partnerships between higher education institutions in conflict-affected regions to facilitate collaborative teaching exchange; and, enhance collaboration between higher education institutions, civil society and I/NGOs to promote peacebuilding in conflict-affected societies.

Piracy off the coast of Somalia has resulted in a steady decline in trade through the Arabian Sea and higher costs of doing business for multiple world regions. The EU has responded to the threat with a large scale anti-piracy operation in the Horn of Africa, which constitutes the first free-standing Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) military operation that is not entirely dependent on NATO planning and assets. The operation is designed to interdict Somali piracy operations across the Gulf of Aden and to keep some of the world's busiest sea lanes open for reasons of world trade. This article argues that the EU preoccupation with military solutions to the piracy problem, based on interventions through the Somali Federal Government with an emphasis on security, is insufficient because it fails to address the underlying causes of piracy and misunderstands the Somali socio-culturalsecurity nexus and the need for practical longer-term land-based approaches to development. The reduction of Somali piracy activities can be linked to this increased military response capacity as well as to increased security precautions undertaken by shipping companies: but none of these strategies have succeeded in dismantling piracy networks. They therefore offer only a temporary and costly stopgap measure.

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