About the Book

Whether the war zone be in Africa, Sri Lanka, Chechnya or Afghanistan, most people are not killed by hi-tech or heavy weaponry, but by the small arms, cheap and accessible, that have flooded into so many countries in recent years. Crime rates involving guns have also soared, as South Africa and Kenya have experienced. Yet much of this cross-border arms trade is illegal. Several governments, including the United States, Canada and Mexico, are now pressing for a new global treaty on illegal trafficking in small arms.

This readable book asks the most important questions about the black market. What precisely is involved? How is it conducted? Who are the players? What are the impacts? What needs to be done?

Thoroughly well informed, it opens with a gripping description of an actual illicit arms transfer operation. Following chapters explore:

* The complexities around what we actually mean by the illegal traffic in arms;
* The role of governments in covert gun-running operations;
* The expansion in the number of countries manufacturing small arms;
* The role of domestic gun markets in supplying the illegal trade;
* How international arms brokers and shippers operate on the margins of the law;
* The sources, routes and beneficiaries of funds used for illicit arms deals;
* The state of play in current international negotiations and agreements.
* How law enforcement and crime prevention can be strengthened.

This book is a fascinating, highly informative and policy-relevant investigation into an issue about which far too little is known.

About the Author

Edited by Lora Lumpe

Contents

Table of Contents
1. Introduction - Lora Lumpe
Part 1: Framing the Issue
2. Anatomy of a Shady Deal - Brian Johnson-Thomas
3. What‘s ‘Legal’? What‘s ‘Illegal’? - Emanuela-Chiara Gillard
Part 2: The Sources
4. Government Gun-running to Guerrillas - Lucy Mathiak and Lora Lumpe
5. Manufacturing Trends - Pete Abel
6. Domestic Gun Markets - Wendy Cukier and Steve Shropshire
Part 3: The Mechanics
7. Making the Deal and Moving the Goods-the role of brokers and shippers - Brian Wood and Johan Peleman
8. Gunsmoke and Mirrors: Financing the illegal trade - Tom Naylor
Part 4: The Way Forward
9. Combating Arms Trafficking - Sarah Meek
10. Law Enforcement and International Gun Trafficking - Ted Leggett
11. Summary of Recommendations - Lora Lumpe

Commendations

"The international community is awakening to the dangers... Running Guns provides a body of interpretative analysis that should serve as the framework for developing real responses." Daniel Garcia-Peña, former Colombian Presidential advisor and peace negotiator

"Provides the first in-depth coverage of the infrastructure of the small arms business, and traces the evolving international efforts to contain the impact of these weapons" Jonathan M. Winer, former US Deputy Ass. Sec. of State for International Narcotics and Crime

"Running Guns lays out a no-nonsense agenda for government action that would effectively counter this deadly trade." José Ramos-Horta, Nat. Council of Timorese Resistance and Nobel Peace Laureate

"This book provides a wealth of analysis and outlines concrete steps that governments must take if they are serious about shutting down the traffic in small arms." Jody Williams, International Campaign to Ban Landmines and Nobel Peace Laureate

"This book tells us what to do, and why we should do it now." Jan Egeland, former Deputy Norwegian Foreign Minister

Academic Adoption Information

This book is used for teaching at the following institutions:

University of Cambridge