Even though impacts generated by the widespread availability and ongoing use of small arms and light weapons have not reached a magnitude sufficient to radically reorder contemporary world affairs, awareness of the nature and extent of these impacts has compelled some international actors to take decisive action. Damien Rogers examines how the international community has responded to the challenge of controlling small arms and light weapons since the early 1990s. Using a postinternationalist analytic framework, he specifically focuses on the maturing relationships between particular actors of world affairs and the nascent interconnectivity between their strategies for, and approaches toward, controlling these weapons. Furthermore, the book identifies ways in which the captains of small arms industry, arms brokers and chief users of these weapons are able to mitigate, resist or elude the intended effects of those responses.

This book critically examines the nexus between arms availability and armed violence.

This handbook provides critical analyses of the theory and practices of small arms proliferation and its impact on conflicts and organized violence in Africa. It examines the terrains, institutions, factors and actors that drive armed conflict and arms proliferation, and further explores the nature, scope, and dynamics of conflicts across the continent, as well as the extent to which these conflicts are exacerbated by the proliferation of small arms. The volume features rich analyses by contributors who are acquainted with, and widely experienced in, the formal and informal structures of arms proliferation and control, and their repercussions on violence, instability and insecurity across Africa. The chapters dissect the challenges of small arms and light weapons in Africa with a view to understanding roots causes and drivers, and generating a fresh body of analyses that adds value to the existing conversation on conflict management and peacebuilding in Africa. With contributions from scholars, development practitioners, defence and security professionals and civil society activists, the handbook seeks to serve as a reference for students, researchers, and policy makers on small arms proliferation, control and regulation; defence and security practitioners; and those involved in countering violence and managing conflicts in Africa.

This book initiates with the story of the evolution of firearms to enable the reader to appreciate the sequence of the development of firearms. It discusses different classes of small arms, their mechanics, internal and external ballistics. Further, it covers the design idea of barrels and actions, various operating principles and relevant discussion on ammunition and propellants. The principle of quality in the design of the small arms is also elaborated in the desired degree. The book brings out the relevance of modern manufacturing technologies like MIM and various surface treatments, and polymers for enhancement of product quality. To appreciate the sophistication of the architecture, the book presents the anatomical details of a few small arms of reputes. Provides complete understanding of overall small weapon systems Explores mechanics and physics of small arms Discusses proper design, quality control, and manufacturing process selections for a good weapon Covers common type of weapon failures and catastrophic failure Includes relevance of manufacturing processes The book is aimed at professionals and graduate students in Mechanical Design, Armament Design, Gun Design including personnel in the military, paramilitary, police, and all other armed forces and their maintenance crews.

The Small Arms Survey is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It serves as the principal international source of public information on all aspects of small arms and armed violence, and as a resource centre for governments, policy-makers, researchers, and activists. The Small Arms Survey 2007: Guns and the City offers new and updated information on small arms production, stockpiles, transfers, and measures, including a special focus on transfer controls. This year's thematic section explores the complex issue of urban violence with case studies on Burundi and Brazil as well as a photo essay by award-winning combat photographer Lucian Read. This edition also features chapters on lessons learned from the tracing of ammunition, the relationship between gun prices and conflict, and the role of small arms in South Sudan.

First published in 1999, the papers collected in this volume were originally prepared for four workshops organized by the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs to inform the work of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. These workshops were held during 1995-96. Some of the authors updated their papers for publication in early 1998. Lora Lumpe, senior fellow with the Norwegian Initiative on Small Arms Transfers in Oslo and Tamar Gabelnick, Acting Director of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists in Washington, DC edited the presentations for this book.

This book argues that the arming of conflict is complexly structured and highly dynamic. It uncovers and describes the construction and interaction of structures and dynamics at global and regional levels, which shape the arming patterns of both state and non-state actors.