Search

Begin New Search Topic Arms Control and Proliferation

381. Trading Life, Trading Death: The Flow of Small Arms from Mozambique to Malawi

Author:
Gregory Mthembu-Salter
Publication Date:
01-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Small Arms Survey
Abstract:
In a region apparently awash with weapons and plagued with rising levels of armed crime, Malawi is a welcome exception to these characteristics. In early 2007 there were only 9,320 legally registered firearms in Malawi excluding those used by the security forces, compared to just under 87,000 in Zambia (Mtonga and Mthembu-Salter, 2004, p. 286) and nearly 4 million in South Africa (Gould et al., 2004, p. 133). Though a country of an estimated 13 million people, in the 5 years between 1996 and 2000 Malawi suffered just 2,161 reported cases of armed robbery (Mwakasungula and Nungu, 2004, p. 89). For 2005 the figure was 316 and for 2004 it was 263, according to figures provided by the Malawi Police Service (MPS). Even leaving aside South Africa, where there were 119,726 recorded cases of aggravated robbery in 2006 (SAPS, 2006), Malawi's armed crime statistics still compare favourably with the rest of the region. In neighbouring Zambia, for example, where there is a population of only 10 million people, there were 3,168 reported cases of armed robbery in the 5 years between 1998 and 2002 (Mtonga and Mthembu-Salter, 2004, p. 294).
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, and War
Political Geography:
Africa

382. Understanding the Armed Groups of the Niger Delta

Author:
Judith Burdin Asuni
Publication Date:
09-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
When a group of Western oil workers was kidnapped in the Niger Delta in January 2006, the immediate hike in prices at gas stations around the world served as a timely reminder of the importance of this unstable region to international oil supplies. A previously unknown group announced it was holding the workers. It called itself the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) and quickly sparked panic within the oil industry with a second set of kidnappings and a series of attacks on oil facilities. Anxiety reached new heights when, in an email sent to journalists, MEND claimed responsibility for an attack on an offshore facility, Bonga, in mid-2008. The installation, located a full seventy-five miles from the mainland, had previously been considered too ambitious a target for the militants. By the summer of 2008, oil was trading at $147 a barrel and oil production in the Delta was down by a quarter. Who was this mysterious group, whose members—armed with little more than a few AK-47s and speedboats—were able to massively disrupt oil supplies and wreak havoc on world commodity prices? Where did it come from, and what does it want? Is it a coherent group with clearly defined aims and political ambitions? Or is it merely a disparate ragtag of disillusioned youths, with powerful backers, intent on little more than petty criminality?
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Arms Control and Proliferation, Corruption, Crime, and Oil
Political Geography:
Africa

383. A tighter net: strengthening the Proliferation Security Initiative

Author:
Emma Belcher
Publication Date:
08-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
What is the problem? United Nations Security Council Resolution 1874 of June 2009 puts extra sanctions on North Korea and encourages lawful interdictions. This adds credibility to the 95-member Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a US-initiated arrangement to promote interception of transfers of cargoes related to weapons of mass destruction (WMD). South Korea's recent decision to join PSI is another positive step.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Weapons of Mass Destruction, and Maritime Commerce
Political Geography:
North Korea and Australia/Pacific

384. Unconventional partners: Australia-India cooperation in reducing nuclear dangers

Author:
Rory Medcalf and Amandeep Gill
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Lowy Institute for International Policy
Abstract:
To reduce the grave dangers posed by the continued existence and spread of nuclear weapons, and the risk that they will one day again be used, unconventional diplomacy is needed. Part of the problem is the way in which global agreements or pragmatic interim solutions are often obstructed by longstanding divisions among nations: nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states; Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) members and nonmembers; Western states and the non-aligned. New partnerships and platforms for dialogue could cut across these stale categories, at least on some issues, and expand the space for agreement and new thinking. Australia and India could take the lead in crafting one such new partnership.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Peace Studies, Treaties and Agreements, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
South Asia, India, and Australia/Pacific

385. Denmark and Modern Non-proliferation Assistance and Disarmament

Author:
Cindy Vestergaard
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
Many countries address the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by cooperatively allocating money, resources and expertise into projects. This DIIS Policy Brief outlines the specific areas where Denmark has the potential to expand on its already well-established expertise to develop a niche non-proliferation and disarmament programme.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Nuclear Weapons, Terrorism, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
Europe and Denmark

386. Modern Non-proliferation and Disarmament: Denmark and the G8 global partnership

Author:
Cindy Vestergaard
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction was established at the 2002 G8 Summit with a total financial commitment of up to US$20 billion over ten years. Denmark's contributions to the initiative totalled over 18 million EUR, but no new commitments have been announced since 2004. Leading up to the 2010 G8 summit, Denmark has an opportunity to discuss its role in the newly expanded and extended Global Partnership (GP) and raise its international non-proliferation and disarmament profile. This report outlines how the history of non-proliferation and disarmament assistance has developed into its modern form, and the potential for future programming. It lays out the progress made in the GP's five priority project areas, contributions by donors, and the potential for Denmark to contribute to a global effort. The report makes ten recommendations for how Denmark can raise its non-proliferation profile and contribute to an expanded GP by tapping into areas where its unique and already-established expertise can be assembled into an effective niche assistance programme.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, International Cooperation, International Organization, and Weapons of Mass Destruction
Political Geography:
United States, United Kingdom, and Denmark

387. Dying for Action: Decision time for an urgent, effective Arms Trade Treaty

Author:
Edmund Cairns
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In 2006 the United Nations voted to start work towards an Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This was recognition by a majority of nations that the current patchwork of laws, regional agreements, and embargoes is ineffective, and insufficient to limit the catastrophic effects of easily available weaponry.
Topic:
Political Violence, Arms Control and Proliferation, United Nations, and War

388. Waking the Devil: The impact of forced disarmament on civilians in the Kivus

Publication Date:
07-2009
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The military operations launched against the FDLR since early 2009 have been presented as a bid for the unity (Umoja Wetu) and peace (Kimia II) that have so long eluded eastern DRC. In that light they have received considerable international acclaim and support, particularly through the UN peacekeeping force, MONUC. Warnings of potentially devastating consequences for civilian protection over recent months have repeatedly met with the response that this is 'the price to pay for peace'. In May 2009, Oxfam and a number of its partners interviewed residents in some of the areas of North and South Kivu where that price is being exacted.
Topic:
Arms Control and Proliferation, Peace Studies, and United Nations
Political Geography:
United States

389. Risky business? The EU, China and dual-use technology

Author:
May-Britt U. Stumbaum
Publication Date:
10-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
European Union Institute for Security Studies
Abstract:
This paper argues that it is high time for the European Union to adopt a proactive policy of managing the risks of sensitive technology transfer to the People's Republic of China (PRC). On the basis of a common understanding of the challenges of transferring dual-use technology, economically, politically and security-wise, the European Union can optimise benefits from opportunities available in the promising and technologically rapidly advancing Chinese market.
Topic:
Security, Arms Control and Proliferation, and Science and Technology
Political Geography:
China and Europe

390. Obama's Address to the Nation on the Way Forward in Afghanistan and Pakistan, December 2009

Author:
Barack Obama
Publication Date:
12-2009
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:
President Obama gave this address on December 1, 2009 at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, War, Armed Struggle, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Pakistan, Afghanistan, United States, and New York