Community Mobilization and Criminal Organizations: Eyl, Somalia

Somali Pirates are organized criminal actors, who operate in a similar fashion to armed groups. In the town of Eyl, Somalia, a multi-stakeholder program - involving Clan elders, religious leaders, local businessmen, and the population, - used a strategy of community mobilization to create a hostile environment toward piracy. The program leveraged social structure and devout religious sentiment to deter defection by individual actors within the program, in order to present a united front against the pirate gangs. This resulted in the successful displacement of pirates.