Weaponomics: the global market for assault rifles

Weaponomics: the global market for assault rifles
Author: Phillip Killicoat
Publisher: World Bank Publications
Total Pages: 23
Release: 2007
Genre: Access to Markets
ISBN:

Abstract: This paper introduces the first effort to quantitatively document the small arms market by collating field reports and journalist accounts to produce a cross-country time-series price index of Kalashnikov assault rifles. A model of the small arms market is developed and empirically estimated to identify the key determinants of assault rifle prices. Variables which proxy the effective height of trade barriers for illicit trade are consistently significant in determining weapon price variation. When controlling for other factors, the collapse of the Soviet Union does not have as large an impact on weapon prices as is generally believed.

Weaponomics

Weaponomics
Author: Phillip Killicoat
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2012
Genre:
ISBN:

This paper introduces the first effort to quantitatively document the small arms market by collating field reports and journalist accounts to produce a cross-country time-series price index of Kalashnikov assault rifles. A model of the small arms market is developed and empirically estimated to identify the key determinants of assault rifle prices. Variables which proxy the effective height of trade barriers for illicit trade are consistently significant in determining weapon price variation. When controlling for other factors, the collapse of the Soviet Union does not have as large an impact on weapon prices as is generally believed.

Building and Using Datasets on Armed Conflicts

Building and Using Datasets on Armed Conflicts
Author: Mayeul Kauffmann
Publisher: IOS Press
Total Pages: 204
Release: 2008
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1586038478

The so-called 'hard' or 'exact' sciences, with their necessary emphasis on technology and on the technical, are hardly reputed for being very human, and, conversely, the so-called 'human' sciences are often pronounced as 'soft' because they cannot be based on the certainties associated with the former. The search for truth - which is the essential dimension of the construction of a peaceful world - therefore has to navigate between considerations of a philosophical nature and the concrete data of the hard sciences. If, ever since the humanism of the Renaissance period, we have been happy to lay claim to the wisdom of one of its great writers, Rabelais, who taught a moral lesson to the young Pantagruel with the neat formula 'science without conscience is the ruin of the soul', we nonetheless stand in awe before modern scientific advances and the extraordinary achievements that they have opened up. If everything is not permissible, at least everything seems possible!

Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Volume 6

Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Volume 6
Author: Tom Proulx
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 649
Release: 2011-05-27
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1461402220

Experimental and Applied Mechanics represents one of eight volumes of technical papers presented at the Society for Experimental Mechanics Annual Conference on Experimental and Applied Mechanics, held at Uncasville, Connecticut, June 13-16, 2011. The full set of proceedings also includes volumes on Dynamic Behavior of Materials, Mechanics of Biological Systems and Materials, Challenges in Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials and Processes in Conventional and Multifunctional Materials, MEMS and Nanotechnology; Optical Measurements, Modeling and, Metrology; Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Thermomechanics and Infra-Red Imaging, and Engineering Applications of Residual Stress.

Warfare in Independent Africa

Warfare in Independent Africa
Author: William Reno
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 295
Release: 2011-06-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1139498657

This book surveys the history of armed conflict in Africa in the period since decolonization and independence. The number of post-independence conflicts in Africa has been considerable, and this book introduces to readers a comprehensive analysis of their causes and character. Tracing the evolution of warfare from anti-colonial and anti-apartheid campaigns to complex conflicts in which factionalized armies, militias and rebel groups fight with each other and prey upon non-combatants, it allows the readers a new perspective to understand violence on the continent. The book is written to appeal not only to students of history and African politics, but also to experts in the policy community, the military and humanitarian agencies.

What Rebels Want

What Rebels Want
Author: Jennifer M. Hazen
Publisher: Cornell University Press
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2013-03-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0801467578

How easy is it for rebel groups to purchase weapons and ammunition in the middle of a war? How quickly can commodities such as diamonds and cocoa be converted into cash to buy war supplies? And why does answering these questions matter for understanding civil wars? In What Rebels Want, Jennifer M. Hazen challenges the commonly held view that rebel groups can get what they want, when they want it, and when they most need it. Hazen's assessments of resource availability in the wars in Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Côte d'Ivoire lead to a better understanding of rebel group capacity and options for war and war termination. Resources entail more than just cash; they include various other economic, military, and political goods, including natural resources, arms and ammunition, safe haven, and diplomatic support. However, rebel groups rarely enjoy continuous access to resources throughout a conflict. Understanding fluctuations in fortune is central to identifying the options available to rebel groups and the reasons why a rebel group chooses to pursue war or peace. The stronger the group's capacity, the more options it possesses with respect to fighting a war. The chances for successful negotiations and the implementation of a peace agreement increase as the options of the rebel group narrow. Sustainable negotiated solutions are most likely, Hazen finds, when a rebel group views negotiations not as one of the solutions for obtaining what it wants, but as the only solution.

Two Nations Indivisible

Two Nations Indivisible
Author: Shannon K. O'Neil
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2013-04-01
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0199323801

Five freshly decapitated human heads are thrown onto a crowded dance floor in western Mexico. A Mexican drug cartel dismembers the body of a rival and then stitches his face onto a soccer ball. These are the sorts of grisly tales that dominate the media, infiltrate movies and TV shows, and ultimately shape Americans' perception of Mexico as a dangerous and scary place, overrun by brutal drug lords. Without a doubt, the drug war is real. In the last six years, over 60,000 people have been murdered in narco-related crimes. But, there is far more to Mexico's story than this gruesome narrative would suggest. While thugs have been grabbing the headlines, Mexico has undergone an unprecedented and under-publicized political, economic, and social transformation. In her groundbreaking book, Two Nations Indivisible, Shannon K. O'Neil argues that the United States is making a grave mistake by focusing on the politics of antagonism toward Mexico. Rather, we should wake up to the revolution of prosperity now unfolding there. The news that isn't being reported is that, over the last decade, Mexico has become a real democracy, providing its citizens a greater voice and opportunities to succeed on their own side of the border. Armed with higher levels of education, upwardly-mobile men and women have been working their way out of poverty, building the largest, most stable middle class in Mexico's history. This is the Mexico Americans need to get to know. Now more than ever, the two countries are indivisible. It is past time for the U.S. to forge a new relationship with its southern neighbor. Because in no uncertain terms, our future depends on it.

Cosmopolitanism and the Evils of the World

Cosmopolitanism and the Evils of the World
Author: Michael H. DeArmey
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 311
Release: 2020-05-28
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3030429784

This book analyses five forms of transnational evils and offers cosmopolitan recommendations for reducing their occurrence. With civilisation in crisis it is crucial, now more than ever, to attempt to mitigate the catastrophes that face us in the decades to come. In a compelling and frightening account of transnational evil, DeArmey identifies and explores in depth the dark side of human behaviour, from genocide, slavery, torture and terrorism, to the greatest disaster of our time: the worldwide destruction of the earth’s biosphere. Building on Kant’s theory of a new world organisation designed to eliminate the evil of war and strengthen the world community, DeArmey develops a biotic and value-based theory of dignity, reconstructing a cosmopolitan world order that supports the Kantian theories of respect, care and hospitality. Cosmopolitan changes to the United Nations are proposed, including a bicameral assembly and, crucially, an environmental council with legal powers. In each chapter, cosmopolitan recommendations are made that will reduce the occurrence of the transnational evil in question; it is through these recommendations that the dignity and world citizenship of humanity can be protected and strengthened. Without them, we are headed towards the collapse of civilisation and mass extinction in the biosphere.