The Palgrave Handbook of Small Arms and Conflicts in Africa

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.

“The Palgrave Handbook of Small Arms and Conflicts in Africa is a volume that is incredible broad in scope and deep at the same time. Uman A. Tar and Charles P. Onwurah have certainly managed to assemble a team that has put together a handbook that offers orientation in a field that is overly complex and dynamic.” (Ulf Engel, Connections, July 15, 2022)

“Finally, through several case-studies, the book offers a wealth of national and regional experiences, providing an extraordinary analytical and practical framework for the issue of small arms and conflict in Africa. Drawing on an impressive range of specialists, the editors furnish a remarkable depth of information to address the issues raised by small arms on the continent. … This book can be recommended not only to specialists in conventional arms issues, but also to anyone interested in the African continent.” (Theò Bajon, International Affairs, Vol. 98 (2), 2022)

Usman A. Tar is Professor of Political Science and Defence Studies, and Distinguished Endowed Chair of Defence and Security Studies (26RC Endowment) at the Nigerian Defence Academy. He is Director of the Academy’s flagship Centre for Defence Studies and Documentation. He is a member of the board of the Social Science Research Council’s African Peacebuidling Network (SSRC/APN), New York, USA. Previously he was Associate Research Fellow at the Africa Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Bradford, UK. He authored several books including The Politics of Neoliberal Democracy in Africa (2009), Globalization in Africa: Perspectives on Development, Security and the Environment (2016), New Architecture of Regional Security in Africa (2020), and Routledge Handbook of Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency in Africa (2020). He has consulted, or consults, for the Nigeria’s National Foundation for the Support of Victims of Terrorism (Victims Support Fund, VSF); United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nigeria; Konrad Adaneur Stiftung (KAS, German Development Fund); and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD), Nigeria. He is a member of Nigeria’s Presidential Think Tank on National Defence and Security, and served as a member of Nigeria’s Presidential Committee to review the national defence policy in 2015.

Charles P. Onwurah is a research associate at the Centre for Defence Studies and Documentation, Nigerian Defence Academy. He is pursuing a PhD in Defence and Strategic Studies at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nigerian Defence Academy. He has published on globalisation, private security companies, small arms and civil militias in Africa.