The First Barbary War is a fascinating subject, and it's interesting as a point of reference. Not that I'm necessarily advocating the bribe or tribute system, per se; I'm just thinking about it as an intellectual exercise. But in theory, a key difference between the US today and the US in the 1790s is that we have the world's most impressive and dominant navy, and if push came to shove, we could retaliate pretty aggressively. So our bribe would be backed by a credible threat: take this payment, but don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Now, as I mentioned, this creates all sorts of perverse economic incentives. First, it encourages infighting among the warlords, further destabilizing the region as each band or group jockeys for top position. Second, it could just as easily be taken by the pirates as a sign of weakness. They'll want to test the limits of that weakness, either by raising their prices over time, by taking more ships for ransom. Finally, it legitimizes some no doubt unsavory leaders, whose American ties would cause deeper sociopolitical problems for us when they got out.
Now, as I mentioned, this creates all sorts of perverse economic incentives. First, it encourages infighting among the warlords, further destabilizing the region as each band or group jockeys for top position. Second, it could just as easily be taken by the pirates as a sign of weakness. They'll want to test the limits of that weakness, either by raising their prices over time, by taking more ships for ransom. Finally, it legitimizes some no doubt unsavory leaders, whose American ties would cause deeper sociopolitical problems for us when they got out.