Book Series

Designed to complement the annual Small Arms Survey and the periodical papers, our book series presents the findings of larger research projects. PDFs are available here.
 
 

'Primed and Purposeful':
Armed Groups and
Human Security Efforts
in the Philippines

'The Politics of Destroying
Surplus Small Arms':
Inconspicuous Disarmament

'Insecurity Is Also a War':
An Assessment of Armed
Violence in Burundi

Security and Post-Conflict
Reconstruction:
Dealing with fighters in
the aftermath of war

The Central African Republic
and Small Arms:
A Regional Tinderbox

Ammunition Tracing Kit:
Protocols and procedures
for recording small-calibre
ammunition

Afghanistan, Arms and
Conflict: Armed groups,
disarmament and security
in a post-war society

Conventional Ammunition
in Surplus: A Reference
Guide

No Refuge: The Crisis
of Refugee Militarization
in Africa

Targeting Ammunition:
A Primer

Armed and Aimless:
Armed Groups, Guns,
and Human Security in
the ECOWAS Region

Armés mais désoeuvrés:
Group armés, armes légères
et sécurité humaine dans
la région de la Cedeao

'The Politics of Destroying Surplus Small Arms':
Inconspicuous Disarmament

edited by Aaron Karp, July 2009
published by Routledge

Although it receives much less attention than better known disarmament processes, the destruction of small arms is reshaping the military arsenals of the world. Out of roughly 200 modern military small arms world-wide, about 500,000 are destroyed every year. The commitment of major governments and international organizations makes small arms destruction is a permanent addition to the global disarmament repertoire. But the prospects for greater military small arms disarmament may be declining, as war in Afghanistan and Iraq create unprecedented demand for second-hand weaponry.

Inconspicuous disarmament of small arms and ammunition is reshaping the global picture of firearms, light weapons and ammunition. The process is far from comprehensive, but much more than cosmetic. Small arms destruction is here to stay, but its contributions may be fleeting. This book is the first full-length examination of the issue. The case studies in this volume examine the politics of military small arms disarmament. When, they ask, is surplus destruction most likely? And what can be done to make destruction more likely and more effective?

Case studies examine small arms destruction by NATO and the OSCE, and in Bulgaria, Cambodia, Germany, Kazakhstan, Papua New Guinea, Romania, Serbia, Ukraine and others.

To order The Politics of Destroying Surplus Small Arms: Inconspicuous Disarmament, contact Routledge.