Controlling Small Arms : Consolidation, Innovation and Relevance in Research and Policy

This edited volume takes stock of the state of research and policy on the issue of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW), ten years after the UN first agreed to deal with the problem. The end of the Cold War originated a series of phenomena that would subsequently come to dominate the political agenda. Perhaps most symptomatic of the ensuing environment is the marked escalation in the scale and dynamics of armed violence, driven by the proliferation of SALW. Events in Rwanda, Somalia and Bosnia seared into global consciousness the devastating effects of this phenomenon, and of the necessity to engage actively in its limitation and prevention. This edited volume explores and outlines the research and policy on the SALW issue at this critical juncture. In addition to providing a detailed telling of the genesis and evolution of SALW research and advocacy, the volume features a series of essays from leading scholars in the field on both advances in research and action on SALW. It reflects on what has been achieved in terms of cumulative advances in data, methodology and analysis, and looks at the ways in which these developments have helped to inform policy making at national, regional and international levels. Alongside situating and integrating past and present advances in advocacy and international action, __Controlling Small Arms__ also outlines future directions for research and action. This book will be of much interest to students of small arms, peace and conflict studies, peacebuilding, security studies and IR. Cover Controlling Small Arms Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Table of Contents List of illustrations Notes on contributors Foreword Acknowledgements Small Arms Survey List of abbreviations Introduction: the past, present and future of the small arms policy-research nexus 1 The small arms problem as arms control: a policy-driven research agenda Part I The current state of small arms research 2 Products and producers: a global business 3 Stockpiles: the global geography of small arms numbers 4 Transfers: more information, more transparency 5 Armed actors: a new subject of research 6 Effects: an emerging research and policy agenda 7 Measures: informing diplomacy—the role of research in the UN small arms process 8 Advocacy: defining the small arms control agenda Part II Innovative contributions to small arms research 9 Firearms and crime in Brazil 10 Challenging modernities in Rio de Janeiro: a critical analysis of the ‘pacification’ project 11 The evolution and consolidation of norms on small arms Part III Conclusions and prospects for the future 12 Small arms research: dynamics and emerging challenges 13 Beyond stalemate: advocacy and action in the UN small arms process Index