The Arms Trade 9781422281284, 9781422236482

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Critical World Issues

The Arms Trade

Critical World Issues Abortion Animal Rights The Arms Trade Capital Punishment Consumerism Drugs Equal Opportunities Euthanasia

Food Technology Genetic Engineering Genocide Human Rights Poverty Racism Refugees Terrorism

Critical World Issues

The Arms Trade Dan Marcovitz

Mason Crest Philadelphia

Mason Crest 450 Parkway Drive, Suite D Broomall, PA 19008 www.masoncrest.com ©2017 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America. CPSIA Compliance Information: Batch #CWI2016. For further information, contact Mason Crest at 1-866-MCP-Book. First printing 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file at the Library of Congress ISBN: 978-1-4222-3648-2 (hc) ISBN: 978-1-4222-8128-4 (ebook) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4222-3337-5 (hc) ISBN 978-1-4222-8622-7 (ebook) 1. Southwestern States—Juvenile literature. 2. Arizona—Juvenile literature. 3. California—Juvenile literature. 4. Nevada—Juvenile literature. I. Title. F785.7.L37 2015 979—dc23 2014050200

Critical World Issues series ISBN: 978-1-4222-3645-1

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Table of Contents 1: 2: 3: 4: 5: 6:

Understanding the Arms Trade ........................7 The Arms that Are Traded ..............................19 The People Involved in the Arms Trade..........35 Benefits of the Arms Trade..............................43 Problems Caused by the Arms Trade ..............57 Efforts against the Arms Trade ......................73

Appendix: Global Arms Expenditures ................89 Organizations to Contact ....................................100 Series Glossary....................................................102 Further Reading..................................................104 Internet Resources ..............................................106 Index....................................................................108 Photo Credits/About the Author........................112

KEY ICONS TO LOOK FOR: Text-dependent questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Words to understand:;OLZL^VYKZ^P[O[OLPYLHZ`[V\UKLYZ[HUKKLÄUP[PVUZ^PSS increase the reader's understanding of the text, while building vocabulary skills. Series glossary of key terms: This back-of-the book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader's HIPSP[`[VYLHKHUKJVTWYLOLUKOPNOLYSL]LSIVVRZHUKHY[PJSLZPU[OPZÄLSK Research projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives.

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1 Understanding the Arms Trade aken from his home at a young age, Kendu Mbosi has seen the damage that the arms trade has caused in just one country. In his time as a child soldier, he has come across a wide range of weapons designed and made in many countries around the world. These have caused devastation to his comrades, friends, home, and family.

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Kendu’s Story “My name is Kendu Mbosi. When I was a teenager, I was taken from my home in northern Uganda by an armed rebel group fighting the Ugandan government. I was taught how to fire guns and mortars, and when I showed fear or refused to do what they said, I was beaten.

A young African man holds an Russian-made AK-47 assault rifle. Such weapons are relatively easy to buy in the developing world—in some places, an AK-47 can be bought for as little as $15, or even for a bag of grain. They are also easy to use: with minimal training, even a child can wield one of these deadly weapons.

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Within a few weeks, I was part of the rebel force. There were other children of my age, and several were even younger. Many of the weapons the force owned were far older than we were. Some guns and mortars were from the United States, others were French. While I was there, the rebels received two rocket launchers which were from Eastern Europe and looked new. No one would say how they had gotten them. Fighting was terrifying, and I saw many people die. I was lucky and managed to escape and be reunited with my family. The village we used to live in is no longer there—much of it was destroyed by bombs. We all now live in a large town in southern Uganda. Life is hard: We miss our village, and I have to help care for my younger sister. She lost her left leg when her bicycle rode over

Words to Understand in This Chapter arms trade—the buying and selling of weapons and defense equipment used in conflict. casualty—a person who is hurt or killed during an accident, war, etc. Cold War—the nonviolent conflict between the US and the former Soviet Union after 1945. embargo—a government order that limits trade in some way. mortar—a short light cannon used to shoot shells high into the air. reconnaissance—military activity in which soldiers, airplanes, etc., are sent to find out information about an enemy. Soviet Union—Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR): a country from 1922–1991 that included 15 republics in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia, the largest of which was Russia.

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A cargo of weapons and ammunition intended for a rebel group in Africa.

a landmine buried near our village. I try to forget the bad memories of the fighting, but sometimes they return. I know that there would be troubles between different groups in Uganda even if there were no weapons, but I think the weapons make it much harder, especially on ordinary people. I was lucky. My mother, my sister, and I are still alive.”

Understanding the Arms Trade

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Beginnings of the Arms Trade The arms industry is engaged in researching, designing, and building military technology, particularly weapons and protection against weapons, such as armor. The arms trade is the buying and selling of weapons and defense equipment. It is a vast industry, one of the largest in the world, and it has major effects on how millions of people live their lives. The arms trade is not a new or even a 20th-century phenomenon. It can be traced back hundreds of years to the invention of new weapons and their demand by different groups, forces, and countries. The arrival of gunpowder in Europe from the late 14th century onward led to a demand by various armies for gunpowder-charged muskets and cannons. During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution and the rise of large factories saw companies able to build large numbers of more complicated weapons, such as machine guns and massive warships. These arms were touted for sale by powerful weapons traders, such as Sir Basil Zaharoff, “the merchant of death,” who dealt arms in 19th century Europe and Russia and became one of the richest people in the world. These businessmen did not care who bought their weapons, selling arms to all sides engaged in a conflict. The two world wars of the 20th century saw massive jumps in weapons technology, the range of weapons available, and the numbers built and sold. For example, at the start of World War I (1914-1918), aircraft were flimsy, unreliable machines. They were used in very small numbers and in a limited role as reconnaissance aircraft, or “spotters,” reporting the positions of troops and guns on the ground. By the end of the war, howev-

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er, the combatants had developed a range of different types of aircraft, including bombers and fighters that were able to fly higher, farther, and faster than any aircraft that had existed at the start of the conflict. The first tanks were also introduced in World War I, and although these machines were slow and cumbersome at first, they went on to change the tactics and structure of modern warfare. Both tanks and aircraft advanced quickly and were built in huge numbers in the period between the two wars, eventually equipping the forces that fought in World War II

B-25 bombers are assembled at the North American Aviation facility in Kansas City, 1942.

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Today, weapons are for sale openly in the central market of Kabul, Afghanistan. The huge numbers of small arms readily available in Africa, Asia, and Central America are a legacy of the Cold War, when the United States and Soviet Union supplied weapons to governments or rebel groups willing to fight for their strategic interests.

(1939-1945). Enormous arms companies, such as Boeing and Lockheed in the US, were established and grew to supply these new, sophisticated weapons in ever-increasing numbers.

The Cold War From the end of World War II until the early 1990s, many countries of the world aligned themselves with one of the two superpowers, the United States or the Soviet Union. The

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world’s two most powerful nations were hostile to and suspicious of each other but never directly fought. This period is known as the Cold War. It saw an expansion of the arms industry and the development of giant weapons and aerospace companies. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, more arms were bought and sold than at any other time in history. The two superpowers built up larger and larger stockpiles of weapons within their own borders while spending vast sums on research into new types of arms, including nuclear weapons. In addition, the US, Soviet Union, and their major allies supplied many other nations and forces with large amounts of military equipment. Sometimes, these arms were donated or offered at greatly-reduced prices to governments in order to build alliances against the other superpower. Some of these weapons supplies were donated to rebel groups in countries whose governments were friendly to the other superpower. The goal was to topple these governments and replace them with others that would become allies.

Arms since the Cold War With the collapse of the Soviet Union at the start of the 1990s, there were no longer two rival superpowers. The threat of allout war between the world’s most powerful nations receded, and the US, Russia, and many of their major allies scaled down the size of their military forces. This resulted in a large surplus of arms, many of which were sold to other countries at greatlyreduced prices. New military spending decreased a great deal but not at a rate that many peace campaigners had hoped for. Today’s remaining superpower, the US, still spends an enor-

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mous amount on the military: in 2014, the US spent $610 billion, compared to $601 billion spent by the next seven countries combined. Arms companies started to look for new markets in other parts of the world where there was conflict or tension, such as the Middle East and many parts of Africa and Asia. For example, Pakistan and India, engaged in a long-running dispute over the region of Kashmir, increased their weapons purchases by 4.74 times and 3.03 times, respectively, from 1990 to 2014.

Value of the Arms Trade Today According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), the total amount of money spent on the world’s military forces in 2014 was $1.76 trillion—that is over $248 for every single man, woman, and child on the planet. Three countries account for over half of global military expenditure, while the 12 biggest spenders together make up over three-quarters of the total. A large part of this enormous sum goes to salaries, housing, and provision for the millions of people who are members of military forces. Yet at least $76 billion is spent on arms worldwide every year. To put that sum into perspective, the arms trade each year is worth more than nine times the size of the entire annual budget for the United Nations (UN). Although over 100 nations of the world build and sell arms, the vast majority of weapons sales is concentrated in the hands of a small number of nations. Some 73 percent of the money spent on arms by countries and groups throughout the world goes to companies or organizations based in just five countries:

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The Impact of Arms Trading he dangers of arms trading impact all parts of the world, both human and natural. In Afghanistan, an estimated more than 100 km2 is contaminated by landmines as a result of over 35 years of bitter conflict. In 2014, there were 1,296 Afghan casualties from landmines. The United States spends the most in the world on its military, using 16 percent of its total budget on defense. With sales of $36.2 billion in 2014, it controls more than half of the world’s weaponry exports. Billions are spent on arms by countries whose people are poor. The war-torn African nation of South Sudan spends 8.2 percent of all of its income on its military forces, including the soldiers pictured below, while its people are among the poorest in the world.

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In 2010 the US government announced it would sell $60 billion worth of aircraft and other weapons to Saudi Arabia, a key ally in the Middle East. The deal included 84 new F-15 fighter jets, as well as upgrades for 70 jets that the kingdom already owned. It is the largest arms deal in American history.

the US, Russia, China, Germany, and France. These five countries also happen to be some of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, the part of the UN that decides on how to maintain peace and security throughout the world.

Legality of the Arms Trade Much of the arms trade is a legal part of the world economy, the global trade in goods and services that flows from one country to another. However, there is also a large illegal arms trade,

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especially with smaller, easier-to-transport weapons. Illegal arms trading can involve selling stolen or smuggled weapons. It can also involve selling weapons and equipment to outlawed groups and guerrilla fighters or to countries that are prohibited from receiving weapons, sometimes by an international agreement such as a UN embargo on arms sales.

Text-Dependent Questions 1. How did the arms trade start at the very beginning, and how did it grow in the 18th and 19th centuries? 2. What was the Cold War, and how did it impact the arms trade?

Research Project Using the Internet or your school library, research the topic of legal and illegal arms trading, and answer the following question: “Should there be limits on arms sales between countries?” Some claim that there should be no limits on arms trading because it is a business transaction between a buyer and seller that benefits both sides and creates jobs and money. Countries will get the weapons they want, whether legally or illegally, and it is better if we at least know what is being traded. Others contend that there should be limits on arms sales, or there would be easy access to weapons by terrorists and governments that oppress people. Even if groups may still get weapons through illegal means, there should still be restrictions to make it more difficult, as it is with illegal drugs. Write a two-page report, using data you have found in your research to support your conclusion, and present it to your class.

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2 The Arms that Are Traded rms manufacturers sell a huge, bewildering array of items, from the simplest policeman’s nightstick and the smallest bullet to complex electronic navigation systems and the largest aircraft carrier. A typical major arms fair will have dozens of stands selling thousands of different products. Most of the arms on sale are conventional weapons—those arms which are not chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons. Major conventional weapons include aircraft; submarines; warships such as destroyers and aircraft carriers; tanks and armored vehicles; and large artillery guns and missile systems. These weapons form the most expensive and profitable side of the arms trade, accounting for as much as 80 percent of the value of all arms sales. New conventional weapons tend to be

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A variety of weapons and equipment on display at a trade show in Milan, Italy. Countries and organizations wishing to buy weapons can view them and deal with suppliers at arms fairs that are held all over the world.

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incredibly expensive. A Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor jet fighter, for example, costs $150 million and can carry a range of missiles, many of which cost several hundred thousand dollars each. One of its missiles, the AIM120 AMRAAM, costs $1.78 million per unit.

Wide Range of Arms Sales Police forces, prisons, and other security organizations in many countries around the world buy arms, such as handguns and assault rifles, as well as a range of products designed to restrain prisoners and control crowds. These include armored vehicles, water cannons, gas sprays, riot shields, and electroshock devices, such as Taser stun guns. Many of these items have caused concern among human rights groups since they have been used for torture and beatings. Although weaponry is an important part of many arms sales, vast sums are also spent on materials and services that are related to these weapons, such as maintenance and training

Words to Understand in This Chapter civilian—a person who is not a member of the military or of a police or firefighting force. small arms—weapons that are fired while being held in one hand or both hands. These include handguns, rifles, shotguns, and assault rifles. subsidence—the gradual sinking of land. weapons of mass destruction—weapons that can destroy entire cities, or can kill large numbers of people.

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This submachine gun was manufactured by Heckler and Koch. The company has also brokered legal arms deals with armed forces all around the world.

contracts, as well as transportation equipment. For example, the US Air Force spends $2.6 million to train a fighter pilot and $600,000 to train an airlift pilot. Flight simulators that cost $10,000 each are used to reduce training costs of pilots’ flight time in aircraft. As military weapons have become more and more complex, services such as training have become an important commodity. They are promoted and sold at arms fairs and meetings almost as much as bullets, bombs, and other weapons.

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Although handguns make up only 34 percent of the more than 310 million firearms owned in the United States, approximately 80 percent of gun-related homicides are committed with a handgun.

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The Small Arms Trade Small arms are usually defined as weapons for personal use: handguns, rifles, light machine guns, and weapons that can be operated by a single person, such as grenades, mortars, and antipersonnel landmines. The building and selling of large, conventional weapons such as jet aircraft is concentrated in a handful of wealthier countries, but small arms are manufactured legally in more than 1,000 factories in over 100 countries throughout the world. Out of these countries, many developing countries are producing and selling small arms abroad. The legal trade in small arms was estimated in 2011 to be worth between $8.5 billion worldwide. The illegal trade in small arms, which are easy to hide and transport, is feared to be even larger. It is estimated that over 875 million small arms are in circulation around the world—one for every eight people. During the Cold War, many nations were flooded with small arms by powerful nations such as the US and former Soviet Union. The arms remain in these countries, while stockpiles of old weapons from previous conflicts are traded and used in other conflicts. Many small arms are easy to maintain and last for decades, such as the Russian-designed AK-47 assault rifle. These weapons are often cheap enough to sustain high demand, including from criminals and rebel militia groups.

Weapons of Mass Destruction Weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) are weapons designed to kill large numbers of people. WMDs include nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, and biological weapons.

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An member of the Suri tribe of Ethiopia aims an AK-47 assault rifle. The AK-47 is easy to use and maintain. Because of this, it remain a popular choice of weapon for many rebel or irregular forces.

Biological or germ warfare involves using parts or products of living organisms to cause harm. By trying to poison the drinking wells of a castle or throwing the bodies of plague victims into an opposing army, armed forces have used biological warfare tactics since medieval times. The first major use of chemical warfare was during World War I, when chlorine gas, mustard gas, and phosgene gas were first deployed by German forces against the Allies. Although there have been hundreds of nuclear weapons tests, only two

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have ever been used in war—the two atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US in 1945 towards the end of World War II. The military forces of almost all countries have studied the effects of WMDs and realize that they have limited military usefulness: their effects are hard to control, many contaminate areas for decades afterward, and their use on another country is likely to trigger an extreme response. International agreements, such as the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1970 and the 1925 Geneva Protocol, have also sought to outlaw the

In many conflicts, rebel groups will mount heavy weapons such as machine guns in the back of pickup trucks. This creates a fighting vehicle that can move quickly and has more firepower than the small arms carried by most rebels.

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A squadron of Russian Su-27 fighter jets flies over an airshow. The jets are relatively inexpensive at about $22 million each. (Some other advanced fighter jets, such as the F-35 pictured on page 35 of this book, cost well over $100 million.) Despite the amount it costs to run the Su-27 fighter, the aircraft serves in the air forces of many developing countries, including Angola, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

spread and use of WMDs. However, fears remain about these devastating weapons. Chemical weapons, for example, were used in the 1980s during both the Iran-Iraq war and by Iraqi forces on the Kurdish civilian population. During the Syrian Civil War in 2013, the Syrian military was reported to use sarin nerve gas on civilians in the Ghouta area of Damascus, killing 734. The total death

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toll due to chemical weapons during the Syrian Civil War was over 1,400—including 400 children. This prompted military threats by the international community, led by the US and Russia jointly, which resulted in the Syrian government agreeing to give up its chemical weapons.

Nations with WMDs At least 26 nations are known to have had programs producing nuclear, chemical, or biological weapons. There are nine nations with declared nuclear weapons: the United States, UK, Russia, China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, and Pakistan.

A United Nations inspector from the Netherlands measures the volume of a chemical weapon in a container in Iraq, 1991.

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A member of a demining team uses a bomb sniffing dog to find unexploded landmines in Bunia, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

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Iran potentially has nuclear capabilities. No countries are known to have biological weapons, but eight may have them. Four countries—the US, Russia, Syria, and North Korea—have chemical weapons, and 16 others may have them. A key concern is that the technology required to make these weapons could fall into the hands of terrorist groups that might actually use them. Many of the substances or equipment needed to make WMDs are easily available or are dual-use products, meaning that they have a peacetime use as well as a military one, such as nuclear technology that can be used to power cities or destroy them.

The Danger of Landmines Antipersonnel landmines are hidden killers. Buried just below the land’s surface, they are hard to detect and explode when pressure is placed on them from above, whether the victim is a soldier or civilian, adult or child. Landmines are one of the few weapons to remain dangerous long after a war or conflict in

The Cost of Landmines ome 54 countries have produced more than 340 models of antipersonnel landmines. They cost as between $3 and $75 to produce and are relatively easy to deploy. By contrast, it costs between $300 and $1,000 to locate and destroy a single mine, which must be done by individual removal.

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This African man lost both of his legs when he stepped on a hidden landmine.

which they were used has finished. Deaths attributed to fortyyear-old landmines have been reported. Many minefields remain unknown, as they were created without warning signs, and barriers to outline their perimeters have since disappeared. In addition, some mines have been moved to new areas by floods or subsidence. The impact of landmines around the world is huge. Poor farming communities have been particularly hard hit. Thousands of acres of land, often with fertile soil, have had to be abandoned because of landmines planted in the vicinity.

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It is difficult to know how many landmines are buried throughout the world, but estimates are in the tens of millions. In 2014, 3,678 people were killed by landmines in 54 countries; the death toll represented a 12 percent increase from 2013. On average, 10 deaths are caused by a landmine every day. Eighty percent of landmine victims are civilians, with 39 percent being children. In the last decade, an estimated hundreds of thousands of survivors have been left with severe disabilities due to landmines, which cause horrific injuries and often loss of limbs. New technologies—in the form of special radar systems and mine-clearing robots—are being deployed, but the majori-

A variety of landmines found in Northern Iraq.

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These Indian soldiers are manning a checkpoint in the region of Jammu and Kashmir, an area whose territory is disputed by the nations of India and Pakistan.

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ty of mine location and removal is done by hand. Mine-clearing personnel use a range of tools, including metal detectors and metal prodders, to probe the ground. Sometimes dogs are used to locate the scent of an explosive mine. Clearing a mined area, though, is a slow, expensive, and risky business. It takes approximately 100 times longer to clear an area of mines than to sow it with mines in the first place. In 2014, 200 km2 was cleared, destroying more than 230,000 antipersonnel mines and 11,500 antivehicle mines in the world.

Text-Dependent Questions 1. Provide three reasons why countries are reluctant to use WMDs. 2. How serious of a problem are landmines? Give statistics to support your claim.

Research Project Using the Internet or your school library, research the topic of weapons of mass destruction, and answer the following question: “Should WMDs be banned in all countries?” Some believe WMDs should be banned in all countries because they cause huge numbers of casualties and injuries, many of whom are civilians and children. War may be inevitable in the world, but WMDs make war much more destructive. It is hypocritical for some countries to have WMDs while condemning WMDs in other countries that are deemed “dangerous” or “oppressive.” Others argue that WMDs should be allowed in some countries that have proven to protect the international community. If the UN approves, these countries can have the firepower to confront nations that might use WMDs to hurt civilians or invade other nations. Write a two-page report, using data you have found in your research to support your conclusion, and present it to your class.

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3 The People Involved in the Arms Trade n arms sale, or or transaction, is usually shown publicly as a deal negotiated between two governments or between a government and a company. Behind the scenes, however, the buying and selling of arms can be far more complicated. Most of the world’s arms are bought by governments who are known as state actors. Nonstate actors who also buy arms, often illegally, are usually rebels or groups that seek to topple the government of a country. Among the state actors, the US government remains the single biggest customer for arms, nearly all of which are bought from companies based on its own soil. The biggest buyers of arms from other countries tend to be Asian and Middle Eastern nations: from 2010 to 2014, the top five arms importers were India, Saudi Arabia, China,

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An Israeli police officer stands guard over the illicit weapons cargo found aboard a ship in the Israeli port of Ashdod in March 2011.The weapons, including C-704 anti-ship missiles, were destined for Palestinian militant organizations in the Gaza Strip.

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United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Pakistan. However, arms purchasing is prevalent throughout the world as almost all nations enter the arms market to buy conventional weapons and small arms from other countries at some point.

Arms Exporters The defense departments of many countries, as well as private and state-owned companies, sell arms to both state and nonstate actors. In the majority of cases, arms companies follow the laws or rulings made by their government as well as any international agreements. In the UK, for example, the majority of arms sales to foreign nations or organizations have to gain approval from the government. Once these sales have been justified, the companies are then awarded an export license to allow the deal to take place. The United States is by far the top exporter of arms in the world, followed by Russia, Germany, France, and China. Since

Words to Understand in This Chapter boomerang effect—when a party’s actions cause unexpected harm to itself. brokering—acting as an intermediary that brings together parties and arranges or facilitates a deal of small arms and light weapons in return for some form of benefit, whether financial or otherwise. state actor—someone acting on behalf of a governmental body and subject to government regulation. transaction—a business deal: an occurrence in which goods, services, or money are passed from one person, account, etc., to another.

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Arms Manufacturers rivate companies make enormous profits in the arms trade and often gain assistance from their country’s government to market their equipment, raise funding for research and development, and secure insurance against buyers who cannot make payments. The top arms manufacturers in 2014 were Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, Raytheon, and Northrop Grumman. All except BAE Systems (UK) are based in the United States. Lockheed Martin, which employs 112,000 people, sold $37.5 billion in arms out of its $45.6 billion in total sales, earning a profit of $3.61 billion. China probably has large manufacturers, but data is not available on their arms companies.

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Sometimes, the major arms manufacturers will work together on important projects, such as the F-35 fighter jet.

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the end of the Cold War the global arms market has gone down, then back up, and competition to sell weapons has become far more intense. This can lead to organizations and individuals using bribes and other illegal tactics to complete a deal. It can also result in buyers and sellers using “middle men” to arrange a deal on their behalf in order to disguise the sale of arms to countries or groups that have been forbidden from buying weapons by national or international agreements.

Arms Importers Whenever there is a weapons export, there is also a country or group on the other end paying for and receiving the goods. The five largest importers in 2015 were Saudi Arabia, India, Australia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates. Several of the top importers are developing countries, while most of the top exporters are industrialized nations. Although the United States was the world’s top arms exporter, it was also in the top 18 as an importer, reflecting the small arms and specialized weapons markets that is spread out globally.

Brokers Brokering means buying arms in one foreign country, transporting them, and then selling them in another foreign country. All of these deals and movements occur frequently without the weapons ever reaching the home country of the broker. Companies and individuals who engage in brokering often do not have to apply for export licenses from the government or gain any other type of official approval. Brokering can be engaged in secret, and in some cases, a country sells arms to

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Arms trafficking, also known as gunrunning, is the illegal trafficking or smuggling of contraband weapons or ammunition.

one nation, only to find out that some or all of these arms are then sold again to another nation which the original country had no intention of selling to.

The Boomerang Effect Weapons sold by one country are often eventually used in action against their own military forces. This is known as the boomerang effect, and it is not a new phenomenon. During World War I, German forces found both Belgian troops to the west and Russian troops to the east equipped with the same

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weapons as themselves. Many examples of the boomerang effect still occur today. For example, US-made weapons have been turned against US troops in Somalia, Iraq, Panama, and Haiti. In some cases, governments that were allies of the US were replaced by hostile regimes which inherited US-made weapons. For example, the US supplied arms to Afghan forces to help in their fight against the invading Soviet army in the 1980s, only to find these weapons turned against them when US-led forces invaded the country to topple the Taliban regime 20 years later

Many brokered deals take place at arms fairs, where organizations and representatives from a country can meet without setting foot on the home soil of either party. This is the display of Israel Aerospace Industries at an event in Singapore.

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in 2002. The same happened with Iraqi forces who were armed by many Western companies during the country’s war against Iran during the 1980s. Many of these weapons were then used against Western forces in the Gulf Wars of 1991 and 2003.

Text-Dependent Questions 1. What types of countries tend to be arms exporters and what types tend to be arms importers? 2. Provide two examples of the boomerang effect on the US military.

Research Project Using the Internet or your school library, research the topic of the arms trade in developing countries, and answer the following question: “Does the arms trade restrict the development of poorer countries?” Some think that the arms trade is especially damaging to poorer countries. When they are offered loans, these nations are tempted to buy arms they cannot truly afford. They may spend on weapons instead of basic needs such as health care or education. If a poorer country has a dictator, arms sales could be used to keep that ruler in power by force. Others say the arms trade does not negatively impact poorer countries’ development. It can provide much-needed defense for a nation that seeks to protect itself from aggressive neighbors. In countries with civil unrest, it can also give the government military the tools it needs to keep order and provide safety for the public. Write a two-page report, using data you have found in your research to support your conclusion, and present it to your class.

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4 Benefits of the Arms Trade he arms trade makes up four percent of the entire world’s trade—$76 billion of a total $19.06 trillion. Billions of dollars change hands between arms buyers and sellers. Such an enormous industry, one of the world’s largest, could not continue if both buyers and sellers did not believe there were benefits. The debate is over whether these benefits are important enough to justify such great costs. Every individual, group, and nation strives to feel secure and safe. Governments have a duty to protect their populations and the territories that they inhabit. For centuries, this has been a key reason for nations building strong military forces and equipping them with effective weapons.

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As a symbol of the amount of money the US spends on weapons, the Pentagon, just outside Washington, D.C., serves as the headquarters of the world’s most powerful military force.

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Armed for Peace Defense is the most frequently given reason for buying arms today and is backed by international laws and treaties that give nations the right to protect their borders. Some countries have developed valuable industries or have discovered extremely profitable deposits of raw materials, such as oil or diamonds. Many countries in this situation, including the oil-producing nations of the Middle East, fear that they may be invaded for their valuable resources. In 1990, Saddam Hussein’s Iraq invaded Kuwait, one main reason being Kuwait’s rich petroleum resources. These countries spend a large proportion of the wealth generated by these precious resources on arms to protect themselves. Assistance for vulnerable countries or rising unrest can come from ally nations or the UN. UN Peacekeeping Forces consist of civilian police, observers, and armed soldiers volunteered by their governments. Peacekeepers have been employed around the world to restore or maintain peace, help disarm former fighters, and assist in rebuilding efforts. In 2015, there were 16 UN peacekeeping operations with 106,245 uniformed

Words to Understand in This Chapter deterrent—something that makes someone decide not to do something. prestige purchasing—to buy goods or services to impress others. strategic balance—distributing arms to countries in a region so as to achieve a desired level of equilibrium in military power and keep peace.

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UN peacekeepers are noticeable for their bright blue helmets and the white vehicles they drive.

personnel, 16,791 civilian personnel, and 1,710 volunteers. The arms carried by peacekeepers are considered vital for them to perform their duties, and even with their defense equipment, there were 1,620 peacekeeper deaths in 2015.

Deterrence of Conflict Arms may be bought but not actually used in the hope that a country’s military strength will make another country decide against attacking or invading. This is known as a deterrent, and the most well-known example occurred during the Cold

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A “Peacekeeper” missile blasts clear of its silo. During the Cold War, both the US and the Soviet Union stockpiled hundreds of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which are capable of hitting a target thousands of miles away. The Peacekeeper was America’s most powerful, accurate and technologically advanced ICBM deterrent from 1986 to 2005.

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War with nuclear weapons. The US and Soviet Union stockpiled vast numbers of nuclear warheads so that a massive attack by one nation would leave the other with enough capability to launch an equally huge attack on the other. Some argue that this example is proof of how arms can be a deterrent. Others point to how a buildup of non-nuclear arms has not acted as a deterrent in many of the conflicts currently occurring around the world.

Prestige Purchasing The governments of many countries view their armed forces as an important symbol of their independence and power. The leaders of some nations buy large weapons, such as aircraft carriers or the latest jet fighters, in the belief that owning such weapons will make their country gain more respect from the world. They may also see a link between military might and political power, leading to spending huge sums of money to expand their armed forces. They may then openly display these forces in shows of strength meant to impress and intimidate their own people and other countries around the world. This is known as prestige purchasing. Prestige purchasing is often extremely wasteful since the weapons bought may not be suited to the region in which they are to operate. An example of this is Thailand’s proposed buying of two Israeli submarines despite the fact that much of the local waters around the country are very shallow, making submarines an easy target. The sudden and cheap availability of some weapons can also lead to prestige purchasing. For example, the end of the

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Cold War led to stocks of weapons flooding the market at low prices. Some countries bought weapons they could not previously afford at new bargain prices.

A Boon to the Economy Countries sell arms, or allow companies based in their borders to sell arms, for many reasons. Some of the most important reasons are about economics. The arms trade is split geographically, with the majority of manufacturers and sellers of arms based in wealthier, more developed nations of the world. The arms trade in these countries is viewed as a major source of job

Strategic Balance trategic balance is the idea that by selling the right amount of arms to different countries, it is possible to establish a balance of military power in a region. Each country’s weapons act as a deterrent to the others, and the balance keeps the peace. Critics argue that trying to achieve a balance of power in a region is difficult or impossible when there are several countries that can supply arms. If anything, it often results in an arms race instead of strategic balance. It is simply not possible to create balance when countries are of dramatically different sizes, populations, and wealth. For instance, the tiny nation of Singapore could not defend itself should China decide to invade, no matter how many conventional weapons it owned.

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creation and one of the most important export industries to bring foreign money into the country’s economy. Critics argue that having a powerful, advanced arms industry is often motivated by the desire for prestige over other nations. As a result, they say the emphasis that countries place on the economic importance of their arms trade is exaggerated.

Helping the Defense Industry Developing and testing new weapons is an extremely expensive business. Companies often need to sell to not only to their own country’s military but also to the military forces of other nations in order to make a profit. They often rely on help from their national government to keep their businesses profitable. The US government, for example, assists its arms companies by spending billions of dollars on research and development contracts. It also actively promotes arms sales to other nations. Governments often support their nation’s arms trade by sending ministers and officials to other nations to discuss deals. In the UK, for example, a government agency funded by taxpayers and employing 143 staff, called the UK Trade & Investment Defence & Security Organisation, is devoted to helping arms companies sell abroad. Governments also provide low-cost or interest-free loans, offer insurance to protect against buyers who may fail to pay, and many other subsidies. The Campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT) estimates that the UK arms export industry receives government subsidies of over $1.1 billion every year for marketing, insurance, research, and development.

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Many workers in richer countries are dependent on jobs in the defense industry.

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Influence through the Arms Trade Countries and companies that sell arms use a number of arguments to justify their sales besides money. One of the most important is that selling arms can increase a country’s influence in a part of the world. Arms sales have been used to bring two nations closer together to form an alliance, as they did during the Cold War, when weapons were sold to countries allied to the US and the Soviet Union, respectively. Arms sales are also often part of a package of other useful deals for sharing information and resources or supplying nonmilitary goods and services. Arms sales can be used to help control other countries, as buyers become reliant on supplies of arms and expertise from the selling country. Weapons are made up of hundreds or even thousands of delicate and complex parts. The possibility of losing access to spare parts or further sales can influence countries to remain friendly and provide benefits in return. Countries that sell arms develop high levels of knowledge about their customers’ military strengths and weaknesses. Not only do they know the abilities of the weapons they sell to them, but they also learn much about a nation’s total arsenal and the size of their forces. This can become vital information should both nations come to conflict—another reason for the arms-buying nation to continue as an ally. .

The US Arms Trade in Numbers Exports in general benefit a country’s economy because they bring foreign money in and generate jobs, and the US gains these advantages as the world’s largest arms exporter. SIPRI

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reported that from 2010 to 2014, the US exported 31 percent of all arms in the world. The Congressional Research Service report stated that in the same years, the US controlled just over 50 percent of the global weaponry market when counting arms sale agreements and deliveries abroad. US arms sales increased 35 percent, or $10 billion, to $36.2 billion 2014, bolstered by multi-billion dollar transactions with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and South Korea. Russia was second with $10.2 billion in sales, followed by Sweden with $5.5 billion. The rise in US arms exports came in a year when the global weapons market remained flat, and competition among suppliers increased. US sales were helped by strong international relations: South Korea, a prime ally, agreed to $7.8 billion in purchases from the US. US arms exports far exceeded arms imports as a percentage of their respective totals for all goods and services. US arms exports of $36.2 billion in 2014 accounted for 1.5 percent of the $2.35 trillion total US exports in 2014. In contrast, the US imported $581 million worth of arms in 2014, which not only represents a sizeable drop from $862 million from 2013, but is less than 1 percent of the $2.77 trillion total US imports. Proponents of the arms trade argue that tens of thousands of well-paying, unionized jobs—in manufacturing, research and development, marketing, training, maintenance, and military personnel—are created by this industry.

Civilian Products Research and development for military ends has led to the creation of many products with important benefits to peaceful

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Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites like this one were originally created by the US Department of Defense as a navigation system for ships, aircraft, and other military vehicles. Today, the technology is available to the public, and is utilized in cars, cell phone mapping apps, commercial airliners, and many other ways.

societies. Radar, for example, which enables airliners to navigate safely, was originally developed as a military early warning system used in World War II. Radar also uses magnetrons that produce microwave radiation, which was harnessed into the invention of the microwave oven. In 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) linked military computers to one another in a network that was able to share information between the Pentagon, Strategic Air Command, and bombproof defense

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The World Wide Web, used by most people on a daily basis today, was developed from a military research project.

command centers under mountain ranges. The research, protocols, and basic hardware were later made available to colleges in the US, where they were refined into what would eventually become the Internet. Sophisticated spy satellites with high-resolution cameras took pictures of enemy forces, but canisters of undeveloped film had to be retrieved in a complicated mid-air transfer that resulted in many lost photos. The “Kennan” satellite of 1976 was developed with a revolutionary electro-optical camera that transmitted images in digital format. This technology would

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evolve into the digital camera we use today. Critics argue that while these advances are beneficial to the public, they may have been possible at a far lower cost by investing in civil scientific research rather than in military development.

Text-Dependent Questions 1. What are three ways countries selling arms can have influence over the countries they sell to? 2. What is the value of arms that the US imports and exports in a year? What percentage of total imports and exports do arms constitute in the US?

Research Project Using the Internet or your school library, research the topic of deterring conflict with arms, and answer the following question: “Is the deterrence of conflict a good justification for the arms trade?” Some contend that statistics tell us most weapons purchased are never used. A country with arms poses a threat to would-be attackers, which prevents conflicts. The Cold War and the few wars between countries today show that arms are effective in deterring war. Others argue that there would be even less conflict and fewer deaths with decreased arms trading. There have already been two world wars that have seen everything from tanks to nuclear weapons deployed. Though there has not been much interstate conflict recently, the arms trade is not a deterrent to intrastate fighting, which is happening all over the world. Write a two-page report, using data you have found in your research to support your conclusion, and present it to your class.

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5 Problems Caused by the Arms Trade or some people, the arms trade is simply a business of selling products, and they feel that people involved in creating and selling weapons should not be held responsible for how they are used. However, many critics of the arms trade believe that selling large amounts of arms around the world helps to create conflicts, causes small-scale skirmishes to mushroom into larger-scale wars, and results in physical and economic misery for millions of people. Without arms supplies, wars would still be possible, but many people believe they would be easier to contain, result in fewer casualties, end more quickly, and have greater potential to rebuild in peace afterward. The relatively ready availability of arms can also prompt peoples or governments to seek a vio-

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Buildings destroyed by Israeli bombing in the city of Beirut, Lebanon, 2006. The easy availability of weapons has enabled those opposed to the state of Israel to launch regular rocket attacks over the border. Israel retaliates by bombing the places—often civilian areas—from which the rockets were launched, causing innocent casualties and property destruction.

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lent solution to a problem when peaceful means may be viable. Arms are frequently used on a country’s own people, who may not have taken up arms but simply disagreed with their government’s policies. The use of weapons on peaceful demonstrators, critics, and protesters has—in countries from Indonesia and Sri Lanka to Uganda, Colombia, and Angola—caused troubles to escalate into violent conflict.

Most Common Uses of Arms Most of the arms actually used today are not directly for defending a country’s borders or resources from attack by another country. Instead, many nations have used their arms to invade other countries. Many more have used their weapons on their own people, either to suppress local opposition to their government or to fight bitter, long-running wars with rebel groups.

Words to Understand in This Chapter asylum—protection given by a government to someone who has left another country in order to escape being harmed. infrastructure—the basic equipment and framework (such as roads and bridges) that are needed for a country, region, or organization to function properly. intrastate—existing or occurring within a state or country. persecution—the act of continually treating in a cruel and harmful way. refugee—someone who has been forced to leave a country because of war or for religious or political reasons. skirmish—a brief and usually unplanned fight during a war. uninhabitable—a place that cannot be lived in.

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Yemeni soldiers on duty at a checkpoint in the Hadramaut Valley. Since 2015 Yemen has been torn by civil war. Regional powers Iran and Saudi Arabia have supplied arms to opposing factions, hoping to gain influence over the region.

Data from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) revealed that in 2006, there were 32 conflicts in the world, with 27 intrastate, or in-country, conflicts between a government and a non-government group. Five conflicts in 2006 were “internationalized intrastate,” in-country conflicts between a government and a non-government group with either or both sides receiving military support from another country. None were “interstate,” conflicts between two countries, though they do exist today.

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Indian Army tanks participate in the annual Republic Day Parade in Delhi. India has the world’s third-largest army, after China and the United States.

Arms Races An arms race is a continuing cycle of rival nations feeling threatened by one another and buying or producing more and more weapons for military superiority. The Cold War saw a massive arms race between the two rival superpowers, the US and Soviet Union. Today, arms races are occurring in several regions around the world, including between China and Taiwan as well as India and Pakistan. Internal arms races can also occur within

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a country when a rebel group’s purchases of weapons prompts the national government to spend more on arms. These arms races can create extra tension and instability which can spill over into conflict. Even if an uneasy peace is kept, the money spent on weapons may escalate, depriving peaceful sectors of government spending, such as hospitals and schools as well as investment in industry and technology.

The Direct Human Cost The Human Security Report Project documented 10,241,076 casualties from 1946 to 2007 in state-based armed conflicts— fighting between two armed groups, at least one of which is a

An UN Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit uncovers an anti-tank mine in Syria.

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A young woman receives occupational therapy after she lost her legs—and her 6-month old baby—in a landmine explosion in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

government. Deaths have gradually decreased each decade, with the lowest numbers in current times: from 2002 to 2007, there were 100,846 casualties from state-based armed conflicts. In the same period, there were 19,788 deaths in non-statebased armed conflicts—fighting between two armed groups,

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neither of which is a government. Civilian casualties make up a startling 90 percent of deaths in conflict: for every soldier lost in war, nine civilians die. On top of casualties, many millions more have been seriously injured, lost their means of making a living, or been forced to leave their homes and become refugees. Hundreds of thousands of children have become orphans as a direct result of war. Yet the struggle to survive is not over when a war ends. Thousands of people die from starvation or disease in war-torn countries that are unable to provide food, clean drinking water, or basic healthcare. Since the end of World War II in 1945 till 2001, there have been 248 conflicts in 153 locations around the world. The US has been involved in 201 of those 248 overseas military conflicts, and it has launched operations in Afghanistan and Iraq since.

Additional Damage from Weapons In many cases, the availability of arms has prolonged conflicts and hindered attempts at building peace. Communities emerging from war face major problems of crime, poverty, hunger, and disease. In addition, their industries, which provide jobs and income, as well as their basic infrastructure—including road and rail systems, hospitals, and power supplies—are frequently devastated by the violence. Ironically, while there may be a scarcity of many basic necessities, arms are often found in abundance. With policing systems frequently not present, criminals, armed groups, and even desperate civilians often seek to use arms to obtain food

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and water, take control of a local area, or seek revenge. Outbreaks of violence can lead to a conflict restarting.

Cost of Arms outside of War Many feel that the economic costs of buying large quantities of arms create as much hardship and misery as their actual use in battle. Governments have to make choices on how they spend their income. The more they spend on buying arms and building their military forces, the less money remains to spend on essential, peacetime services such as transportation and health care. Arms are extremely expensive to buy. What is sometimes forgotten is that they also cost a huge amount to maintain, train personnel for, and use even in peacetime: It costs $68,362 to fly the aforementioned F-22 Raptor fighter jet for just a single hour in peacetime. Some larger aircraft, such as bombers and cargo planes, cost up to double that figure for an hour of flight. In contrast, the average yearly income of a person in the US is $44,911. The contrast is even more stark when comparing to the poorest country in the world: in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the average person makes only $394.25 a year, or $1.08 a day. A single hour of flying the F-22 Raptor is equivalent to the annual income of 173 people in the DRC. When hundreds of millions of the world’s people face starvation and life-threatening diseases, critics of the arms trade argue that military spending is a luxury that cannot be afforded. The world’s less developed nations are mainly found in Asia, Africa, and South America. A large number of these are desperately poor and struggling, often unsuccessfully, to feed,

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clothe, and shelter their entire population. Yet many of these countries still spend large amounts of their budgets on buying arms which they cannot build themselves. The value of all arms deliveries to developing nations in the year 2011 was $28 billion, 60 percent of global sales. This is a vast sum of money flowing out of poorer nations, usually into wealthier nations. Many critics of the arms trade argue that the majority of this money would be better spent inside a country’s own bor-

Military Spending vs. Education ccording to researchers at PRIO who studied 35 “conflict-affected” countries, 21 developing countries spent more on arms than primary schools. The international community does not provide much assistance in this area, as only two percent of humanitarian aid goes to aid requests for education. In poorer countries affected by conflict, 28 million children of primary school age are out of school, accounting for 42 percent of the world’s total; thirty percent of young people aged 15 to 24 are illiterate in conflict-affected countries, compared to 7 percent worldwide; and a child is twice as likely to die before age five as a child in a poor country unaffected by conflict. Half of the world’s out-of-school children live in just 15 countries. Out of this list, India has the fourth-most children out of school, but is first in arms imports in the world, with $3.08 billion spent in 2015. Pakistan has the second-most out-of-school children, but is tenth in arms imports, spending $735 million on arms in 2015.

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Refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria walk to the train station in Gyekeneyes, Hungary. The availability of small arms to the various factions fighting in Syria, Libya, Iraq, and other troubled countries has created an increase in the worldwide refugee population not seen since the end of World War II.

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ders trying to solve basic problems of poverty and disease or investing in its own industries. Instead, billions of dollars are being poured out for weapons that may cause their citizens further damage while making other countries rich.

Arms Impact on Refugees Refugees are civilian men, women, and children who have fled their homes in order to seek sanctuary in another country. People can also be displaced within their own country. Sometimes, refugees are displaced because of natural disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods, or droughts. However, the most common cause of the many millions of refugees around the world is conflict involving arms. Bombardment from heavy weapons can destroy a town’s houses, schools, factories, and hospitals, leaving nowhere to live or work. It can also destroy basic facilities such as clean water supplies, making communities uninhabitable. The use or threat of small arms can cause great fear and suffering. Fear of injury or death is a major reason why people leave their homes behind as civilians take flight in order to seek safety for themselves and their families elsewhere. Arms have enabled governments to force minority groups out of their home territories or even the entire country. In the early 1970s, General Idi Amin banished Asian minority groups from Uganda, using weapons directly or as a threat. Over 30,000 Ugandan Asians became refugees, having to leave the country and find homes elsewhere. The UN Refugee Agency reported that in 2014, 59.5 million individuals were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result

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of persecution, conflict, generalized violence, or human rights violations. This is 8.3 million more than in 2013 (51.2 million) and the highest annual increase in a single year. Of the total, 45.6 million were displaced after previously being forced out of their homes, and 13.9 million people were newly displaced—11 million within the borders of their own country and 2.9 million outside their country. The number of people who had to leave their homes per day was 42,500, which is a four-fold increase in four years. More than half of all refugees came from just three countries: Syria (3.88 million), Afghanistan (2.59 million), and Somalia (1.1 million). Children under 18 years of age constituted 51 percent of the refugee population, the highest figure in more than a decade. Developing countries such as Pakistan and Ethiopia, often with few resources for their own citizens, hosted 86 percent of all refugees, with the least developed of those countries providing asylum to 3.6 million, or 25 percent of the total. Refugees officially applied for resettlement in 26 different countries in 2014, with the US admitting the highest number (73,000). The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said, “We are witnessing a paradigm change, an unchecked slide into an era in which the scale of global forced displacement as well as the response required is now clearly dwarfing anything seen before.”

Weapons and the World’s Children The youngest people in society are often the most defenseless, without an understanding of the dangers posed by weapons.

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School children attend the official launch of the “Children, Not Soldiers” campaign in South Sudan, a collaboration between the United Nations and the Government of South Sudan, October 2014.

According to a 1995 report by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), over two million children are estimated to have died in armed conflicts over the previous decade. A further six million were permanently disabled or seriously injured during the same period. In the 1994 Rwandan genocide alone, 300,000 children were killed within 4 months. In the Syrian Civil War, 11,000 children under age 17 died, mostly due to explosives. Today, one billion children live in countries affected by conflict. Some live in war zones but are unable to read warning

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signs due to lack of education. They may be curious or unaware and fall victim to landmines, unexploded bombs or shells, or wander into the line of fire. Some military operations target vulnerable institutions such as hospitals or schools, leaving even more young victims. The wide availability of small arms in some countries has seen waves of violence, with children as frequent targets. For example, in Colombia, some 4,000 children are killed with small arms every single year. The problem is also found in wealthier nations. In the US, 10,000 children and teenagers, for example, are hospitalized or killed each year as a result of gun-related violence.

Child Soldiers There are an estimated 250,000 child soldiers currently fighting in conflicts around the world. Forty percent are girls who are often used as sex slaves for their male soldier counterparts. Most are believed to be in their teens, but evidence has shown that many “It is immoral thousands are between 8 and 12 years that adults of age. Children are recruited into both should want children official government military forces and to fight their wars for rebel groups. them... There is simMany children are kidnapped from ply no excuse, no their homes and forced to become solacceptable argument diers, as described in Kendu’s story. for arming children.” Others are forced by their village to fight —Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa in exchange for the village being safe from attack. Still others become soldiers

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because of poverty or a desire for revenge. Military forces may use children when a long war has seen the numbers of adults in an area fall dramatically. They are often sought out because they are easier to recruit and bully into fighting with unquestioning obedience.

Text-Dependent Questions 1. What percent of casualties in conflicts are civilians who are not directly involved in the fighting? 2. What are two arms-related causes of people being displaced from their homes?

Research Project Using the Internet or your school library, research the topic of child soldiers, and answer the following question: “Is the arms trade responsible for children becoming soldiers?” Some believe that the arms trade cannot be blamed for the actions of people who force children to fight or a child’s decision to participate in a war. Even without as many arms, corrupt governments and adults would still force children to fight. The equipment available does not cause people to make decisions, good or bad. Others maintain that the arms trade is to blame for child soldiers by building lethal and lightweight weapons easy enough for children to operate and providing cheap weapons to armed groups who use child soldiers. Without the arms trade, there would be far fewer child soldiers, many would be saved from death, and children would be less traumatized from participating in battle. Write a two-page report, using data you have found in your research to support your conclusion, and present it to your class.

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6 Efforts against the Arms Trade any people feel that the arms trade as it works today is wrong and produces undesirable, dangerous, and tragic effects. Work to counter the consequences of the arms trade occurs in many different ways, from the largest international conferences to the smallest mineclearing projects. Around the world, many charitable groups and agencies are trying to reduce the impact of arms and conflict on regions of the world. Dozens of organizations lobby governments and the UN for changes in the ways weapons are bought, sold, and used globally. Many other groups are concerned with the direct effects of arms use, treating war victims, rebuilding schools and hospitals, and helping refugees from conflicts settle in new places or return to their homes.

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This statue of a knotted gun stands outside the United Nations headquarters in New York as a symbol of the organization’s commitment to peace.

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Other organizations are seeking to remove arms in regions by reporting illegal arms trading where they find it taking place, conducting mine-clearing operations, and promoting arms trade treaties and disarmament programs. Disarmament programs include situations where illegally-held weapons can be given up with no fear of being arrested, fined, or punished. In some cases, as with gun-buyback programs, people are persuaded by offers for money or another reward for each weapon that they surrender.

Government Efforts Many governments of wealthier nations, particularly those concerned about terrorists obtaining weapons, are investing huge sums of money into tracking and investigating illegal arms deals, with the intention of bringing those who make them to justice. Large numbers of illegal sales are still being made around the world, but there have been some successes in restricting their progress. In August 2003, Hemant Lakhani, an

Words to Understand in This Chapter illicit—not allowed by law: unlawful or illegal. lobby—to try to influence government officials to make decisions for or against something. non-governmental organization—a voluntary group of individuals or organizations, not affiliated with any government and usually non-profit, that is formed to provide services or to advocate a public policy. proliferation—a quick increase in number or amount.

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Some of the weapons turned in by former combatants in Côte d’Ivoire, 2014. The West African nation underwent two civil wars, The first took place between 2002 and 2007, and and the second during 2010-2011. Efforts are underway to reintegrate the former combatants into Ivorian society.

arms trader accused of trying to sell a missile to a terrorist group for use against an American passenger airliner, was captured. His arrest was the result of an 18-month operation involving intelligence agencies in the US, UK, and Russia. Many critics of governments’ attempts to clear up the illegal arms trade maintain that these countries should be looking at the far bigger issue by focusing on stricter laws on legal arms sales as well.

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Arms Embargoes Regulations on selling arms vary from country to country. Many nations have their own policies and refuse to sell certain types of arms or any at all to countries that are intent on war or use weapons against their own people. Sometimes countries group together, often through the UN, to impose an arms embargo—a ban on the sale of arms to a country. The UN arms embargo on South Africa, for example, started in 1977 and lasted until 1994. During that time, however, some arms supplies still managed to reach the country. Embargoes are rarely airtight, as seen with arms reaching embargoed countries including Sierra Leone, Libya, and Iraq. Currently, the UN has mandatory arms embargoes on 13 countries and 3 groups: the countries with embargoes include Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, and Sudan, and the 3 groups

Disarming People in Albania ast amounts of arms are in circulation in Albania—as many as one for every four people. A UN project is successfully removing some of these weapons from circulation by striking deals with villages to surrender arms in exchange for community projects such as better electricity supplies or new roads. Seran Llaha, a member of Tudge, a village which has joined the project, said, “I am very happy. All the village was involved. Giving in our guns is the first step for a safer, more peaceful future.”

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A member of a rebel group in Burundi surrenders his weapon and ammunition to a UN peacekeeping group, 2005.

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The UN Security Council votes in 2014 to renew an arms embargo on Liberia.

are Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

End-User Certificates In many international sales of arms, to get an export license, companies must now supply the government with an end-user certificate. This names who is buying the weapons and what they will use them for, certifying that the buyer is the final recipient of the arms and is not planning on transferring them to another party. While, in theory, this seems like a good idea,

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in practice, it does nothing to prevent an importer from promising to use arms for one purpose and then using them for another. For example, Hawk jet aircraft were sold by the UK to Indonesia with the intention of being used to patrol the country’s borders. Instead, they were used in the summer of 2003 in attacks on Indonesia’s own people in the Aceh province of the country.

American Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agents escort Viktor Bout to the United States after his arrest in Thailand. Bout, a notorious Russian arms trader, sold weapons to a number of regimes and rebels in Africa and Asia. In 2011 he was convicted in a US court of selling anti-aircraft missiles and other weapons to the FARC, a rebel group in Colombia that the US government considers to be a terrorist organization. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

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Grace Akallo, a former child soldier who participated in the conflict in Uganda, takes part in a UN Security Council debate on children and armed conflict, 2009.

License Loopholes Some arms companies have tried to bypass restrictions on arms sales by disguising the true contents of the trade. In 1996, an export license was granted to a British company called Procurement Services International Ltd. for the sale of six water cannons to Indonesia, a license that also included “associated equipment.” UK parliamentary questioning eventually revealed that the “associated equipment” included over 300 armored personnel carriers made by the British company,

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Glover Webb. Despite this, the export license was not withdrawn by the government.

International Arms-Control Agreements A number of international agreements that limit the sale and use of different weapons exist. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1970 aimed to prevent the proliferation, or spread, of nuclear weapons and technology, promote cooperation in peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and move toward nuclear and general disarmament. A total of 191 countries signed the treaty, more than any other arms-control agreement, perhaps because of the enormous potential harm involved in nuclear weapons. The Biological Weapons Convention of 1975 and Chemical

Transforming Guns into Hoes ozambique’s civil war ended in 1992, but the large numbers of arms remaining in the country made rebuilding the nation extremely difficult. In 1995, the Mozambican Christian Council launched a campaign to “Transform Guns into Hoes.” It sought to persuade people to hand over weapons in exchange for farming equipment, bicycles, and sewing machines. Thousands of guns, grenades, and landmines were traded in while people received useful, peaceful tools in return.

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The Hiroshima Peace Memorial is the remains of one of the few buildings left standing after an atomic bomb was dropped on this Japanese city in August 1945. The atomic bombing killed more than 140,000 people. To prevent such devastating attacks in the future, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty went into effect in 1970. The treaty was meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament, as well as complete disarmament.

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Weapons Convention of 1997 called for the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling, and use of biological and chemical weapons, respectively, as well as their destruction. There were several agreements specifically between the US and Soviet Union because of their superpower status and sheer size of armaments. The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty of 1988 was an agreement to eliminate their intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles. The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty I of 1992 and Treaty II of 1997 were commitments to the reduction and limitation of strategic offensive arms. The Arms Trade Treaty of 2013 established common international standards for regulating international trade in conventional arms and seeks to prevent and eradicate illicit trade in conventional arms.

The Ottawa Treaty One of the most famous international arms agreements of recent years came into force in 1999. After years of campaigning, an agreement outlawing antipersonnel landmines was forged at the Ottawa Convention. The Ottawa Treaty, also known as the Mine Ban Treaty, is an internationally-binding agreement that bans the use, production, stockpiling, and transfer of antipersonnel mines. It also places responsibility on countries to clear affected areas, assist victims, and destroy stockpiles. It was hailed as a major breakthrough in controlling arms and has resulted in ongoing reports of landmine clearance. There are 162 nations that have signed the treaty, but the United States is not one of them.

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Effectiveness of International Agreements International agreements have had some success. For example, with the breakup of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, many newly-independent republics, such as Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, had Soviet nuclear weapons based on their soil which they removed and decommissioned before signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Nations involved in past conflicts, such as Eritrea or Congo, were originally opposed to signing the treaty, but eventually did so in the early 2000s. However, for international agreements to work fully, all nations must sign and enforce the terms in the agreement. The three countries that are the largest producers of landmines— the US, Russia, and China—have not signed the Ottawa Treaty, nor have a number of other nations involved in an arms race with rival neighbors, such as North and South Korea. Some arms companies are working to find ways around the landmines treaty. They are developing or fitting antitank mines, which are not banned by the treaty, with highly sensi“Disarmament, tive trigger devices that can be set off by with mutual far less weight than a tank, such as a honor and confidence, is a continuing imperperson or a small vehicle. ative.” While most nations around the —former US President world have signed the Nuclear Dwight D. Eisenhower Nonproliferation Treaty, Israel, India, and Pakistan have not signed, and all

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three countries are believed to own or are working to develop nuclear weapons. In 2003, North Korea became the first nation to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and Iran decreased the level of access of international weapons inspectors to its nuclear facilities, leading to fears that both countries may be developing their own nuclear weapons. It was discovered that Iran failed to declare its uranium enrichment program—the foundation for nuclear arms capabilities— and defied the UN in continuing on with the program. In 2010, President Obama spoke on behalf of the US, Russia, and other nations, demanding that Iran face consequences for failing to adhere to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

A government official sets fire to a pile of rifles collected during a gun amnesty in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in order to stop them from being used in future conflicts.

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The Power of the People Faced with the huge size and power of the arms trade, backed by many national governments, it is tempting to believe that ordinary people are powerless against the proliferation of weapons. This need not be the case. By banding together in groups to protest and campaign against aspects of the arms trade, ordinary people can make a difference. For example, the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines was partly the result of prolonged campaigns in many countries by civilian groups. One organization, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, a non-governmental organization (NGO), received a Nobel Peace Prize in 1997 for its efforts in highlighting the damage landmines cause around the world. Groups like the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Oxfam, Saferworld, and the Campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT) have highlighted and publicized arms-trade issues such as government subsidies for weapons makers. Human rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, bring attention to atrocities committed by nations using arms. In the past, topics like these were not discussed openly in public, but today, they are debated in the media while pressure is placed on governments to change laws and regulations.

Future of the Arms Trade It is highly unlikely that the arms trade will ever end. Arms will always be developed, bought, and sold while nations exist and believe there are threats to their security. Money will also be a constant motive for the distribution of weapons.

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However, campaign groups believe it is possible to radically reduce the amount of arms dealt and increasingly restrict their use. Banning one type of weapon, reducing the sales of weapons to areas in conflict, or helping to disarm former soldiers in a region may only seem like small steps, yet they can make an enormous difference to the lives of many people.

Text-Dependent Questions 1. Give one example of a treaty or agreement that was successful and one that was not completely successful. 2. Name two ways civilian groups have made a difference to help people against the arms trade.

Research Project Using the Internet or your school library, research the topic of the United Nations and the arms trade, and answer the following question: “Is the UN an effective authority against the arms trade?” Some think that the UN is not effective because it cannot force countries to comply with international policies. If nations such as Iran refused to cooperate with restrictions on something as serious as nuclear weapons development, the UN has little power to stop them because it takes too long for so many countries to agree on a course of action, and the UN has limited ability to use force itself. Others say that the UN is an able authority against the arms trade because it brings international arms violations to the public eye. It can coordinate trade embargoes that impact illegal arms traders, and it can also bring together military forces from multiple countries. The UN has an important role as the entity that sets the necessary standards for what is and is not acceptable in the arms trade. Write a two-page report, using data you have found in your research to support your conclusion, and present it to your class.

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Appendix

Global Arms Expenditures Countries with the Highest Total Military Expenditures Country Military Expenditures United States $609.914 billion People’s Republic of China $216.371 billion Russian Federation $84.462 billion Saudi Arabia $80.762 billion France $62.289 billion United Kingdom of Great Britain $60.482 billion India $49.968 billion Germany $46.455 billion Japan $45.776 billion Republic of Korea (South Korea) $36.677 billion Brazil $31.744 billion Italy $30.909 billion Australia $25.411 billion United Arab Emirates $22.755 billion

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Turkey Canada Israel Colombia Spain Algeria Poland Taiwan Netherlands Singapore Oman Iraq Mexico Pakistan Indonesia Angola Norway Sweden Thailand Venezuela Greece Switzerland Belgium Chile Egypt Malaysia

$22.618 billion $17.452 billion $15.908 billion $13.054 billion $12.732 billion $11.862 billion $10.499 billion $10.244 billion $10.086 billion $9.841 billion $9.623 billion $9.516 billion $8.660 billion $8.537 billion $7.020 billion $6.842 billion $6.773 billion $6.573 billion $5.730 billion $5.576 billion $5.318 billion $5.229 billion $5.190 billion $5.149 billion $4.961 billion $4.919 billion Source: SIPRI Database, Military Expenditure by Country, in Current US$, 2014

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The F-16 is one of the most widely sold fighter jets in the world. Countries including Israel and the United Arab Emirates have bought these aircraft from the United States.

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Countries with Highest Military Expenditures as Percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), 2014 Country Oman Saudi Arabia South Sudan Libya United Arab Emirates Algeria Israel Republic of Congo Azerbaijan Lebanon Russian Federation Iraq Bahrain Namibia Armenia Guinea Myanmar Morocco Jordan United States Colombia Pakistan

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Percent of GDP Used on Military Expenditures 11.8 percent 10.8 percent 8.2 percent 8.0 percent 5.7 percent 5.6 percent 5.2 percent 5.0 percent 4.8 percent 4.6 percent 4.5 percent 4.3 percent 4.2 percent 4.2 percent 4.0 percent 3.8 percent 3.7 percent 3.7 percent 3.5 percent 3.5 percent 3.5 percent 3.4 percent

Kyrgyz Republic Singapore Brunei Darussalam Ukraine Mauritania Ecuador Lithuania Republic of Korea (South Korea) Zimbabwe India Georgia Sri Lanka Vietnam Greece France Turkey Lesotho Serbia China

3.4 percent 3.2 percent 3.1 percent 3.1 percent 2.9 percent 2.7 percent 2.7 percent 2.6 percent 2.6 percent 2.4 percent 2.3 percent 2.3 percent 2.3 percent 2.3 percent 2.2 percent 2.2 percent 2.2 percent 2.2 percent 2.1 percent

Source: The World Bank, Military Expenditure (% of GDP)

Appendix: Global Arms Expenditures

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North Korea spends a large percentage of its national budget on weapons and the armed forces. It uses state occasions to parade its military strength.

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Countries with Largest Total Military Personnel, 2015 Country Total Military Personnel People’s Republic of China 2,945,000 India 2,647,150 United States 1,520,100 Dem. Rep. of Korea (North Korea) 1,379,000 Russian Federation 1,364,000 Pakistan 946,000 Egypt 835,500 Brazil 713,480 Indonesia 676,500 Republic of Korea (South Korea) 659,500 Turkey 612,800 Islamic Republic of Iran. 563,000 Vietnam 522,000 Myanmar 513,250 Colombia 440,224 Thailand 474,550 Italy 367,550 Afghanistan 340,350 Mexico 329,750 France 332,250 Algeria 317,200 Sudan 264,300 Japan 260,086 Saudi Arabia 249,000 Morocco 245,800

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Sri Lanka Bangladesh Spain Eritrea Peru

223,100 220,950 215,700 201,750 192,000 Source: The World Bank, Armed Forces Personnel, Total

Largest Arms Importers, 2015 Country Saudi Arabia India Australia Egypt United Arab Emirates Iraq China Vietnam Greece Pakistan Indonesia Taiwan (ROC) Qatar Bangladesh Algeria

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Import Value $3.161 billion $3.078 billion $1.574 billion $1.475 billion $1.289 billion $1.215 billion $1.214 billion $870 million $762 million $735 million $683 million $681 million $655 million $653 million $636 million

Israel Italy United States Mexico Turkey Kazakhstan Canada United Kingdom Kuwait Myanmar Japan Brazil Azerbaijan South Korea Finland Colombia Jordan Malaysia Nigeria Thailand Peru Belarus Venezuela Philippines Spain Oman

$617 million $596 million $565 million $500 million $448 million $419 million $395 million $382 million $366 million $320 million $310 million $289 million $285 million $245 million $228 million $215 million $198 million $190 million $188 million $185 million $169 million $164 million $162 million $158 million $153 million $148 million

Source: SIPRI Database, TIV of Arms Exports from All, 2014-2015

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Largest Arms Exporters, 2015 Country United States Russian Federation Germany France People’s Republic of China Spain United Kingdom Israel Italy Netherlands Switzerland Ukraine Canada Turkey Sweden Norway Czech Republic Australia South Korea United Arab Emirates Singapore Brazil South Africa Uzbekistan India

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Export Value $10,484 billion $5,483 billion $2,049 billion $2,013 billion $1,966 billion $1,279 billion $1,214 billion $710 million $570 million $444 million $369 million $323 million $312 million $291 million $186 million $155 million $120 million $113 million $105 million $63 million $48 million $41 million $39 million $34 million $33 million

Egypt Serbia Jordan Finland Denmark Austria Belarus Poland New Zealand Portugal Malta Indonesia Taiwan (ROC)

$22 million $19 million $18 million $16 million $15 million $14 million $14 million $14 million $7 million $7 million $5 million $4 million $4 million Source: SIPRI Database, TIV of Arms Exports to All, 2014-2015

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Organizations to Contact Campaign against Arms Trade Unit 4, 5-7 Wells Terrace London UK N4 3JU https://www.caat.org.uk/ Child Soldiers International 9 Marshalsea Road London UK SE1 1EP http://www.child-soldiers.org/ International Campaign to Ban Landmines ICBL-CMC Maison de la Paix 2, Chemin Eugène-Rigot CH-1202 Geneva Switzerland http://www.icbl.org/en-gb/home.aspx Amnesty International Calle Luz Saviñon 519

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Colonia del Valle Benito Juarez 03100 Ciudad de Mexico https://www.amnesty.org/en/ Federation of American Scientists Arms Sales Monitoring Project 1725 DeSales Street NW, Suite 600 Washington, DC 20036 http://fas.org/ Arms Control Association 1313 L Street, NW, Suite 130 Washington, DC 20005 http://www.armscontrol.org/ Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor New York, NY 10118-3299 https://www.hrw.org/

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Series Glossary apartheid—literally meaning “apartness,’’ the political policies of the South African government from 1948 until the early 1990s designed to keep peoples segregated based on their color. and CE—alternatives to the traditional Western designation of calendar eras, which used the birth of Jesus as a dividing line. BCE stands for “Before the Common Era,” and is equivalent to BC (“Before Christ”). Dates labeled CE, or “Common Era,” are equivalent to Anno Domini (AD, or “the Year of Our Lord”).

BCE

colony—a country or region ruled by another country. democracy—a country in which the people can vote to choose those who govern them. detention center—a place where people claiming asylum and refugee status are held while their case is investigated. ethnic cleansing—an attempt to rid a country or region of a particular ethnic group. The term was first used to describe the attempt by Serb nationalists to rid Bosnia of Muslims. house arrest—to be detained in your own home, rather than in prison, under the constant watch of police or other government forces, such as the army. reformist—a person who wants to improve a country or an institution, such as the police force, by ridding it of abuses or faults.

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republic—a country without a king or queen, such as the US. United Nations—an international organization set up after the end of World War II to promote peace and cooperation throughout the world. Its predecessor was the League of Nations. UN Security Council—the permanent committee of the United Nations that oversees its peacekeeping operations around the world. World Bank—an international financial organization, connected to the United Nations. It is the largest source of financial aid to developing countries. World War I—A war fought in Europe from 1914 to 1918, in which an alliance of nations that included Great Britain, France, Russia, Italy, and the United States defeated the alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. World War II—A war fought in Europe, Africa, and Asia from 1939 to 1945, in which the Allied Powers (the United States, Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, and China) worked together to defeat the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan).

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Further Reading Carlson, Jennifer. Citizen-Protectors: The Everyday Politics of Guns in an Age of Decline. New York: Oxford University Press, 2015. Cook, Philip J. The Gun Debate: What Everyone Needs to Know. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. Erickson, Jennifer. Dangerous Trade: Arms Exports, Human Rights, and International Reputation. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. Schroeder, Matthew. The Small Arms Trade: A Beginner’s Guide. London: Oneworld Publications, 2012. Stohl, Rachel, and Suzette Grillot. The International Arms Trade. Cambridge: Polity Books, 2013.

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Internet Resources www.caat.org.uk/ Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT) is a UK-based organization working to end the international arms trade by working to stop the export of arms that cause conflict; end all government political and financial support for arms exports; and promote progressive demilitarization within arms-producing countries. The website provides general to specific information on the arms trade, resources, and ways to get involved in the issue. www.sipri.org/ The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control, and disarmament. It provides data, analysis and recommendations to policymakers, researchers, media, and the interested public. www.icbl.org/en-gb/home.aspx International Campaign to Ban Landmines is a global network of non-governmental organizations, active in around 100 countries, that works for a world free of antipersonnel landmines, where landmine survivors can lead fulfilling lives. It includes details of the Ottawa Treaty and reports on landmine contamination and progress in clearing landmines.

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http://www.saferworld.org.uk Saferworld is an independent international organization working to prevent violent conflict and build safer lives. It provides news, calls to action, and opinion articles on world safety issues, including the arms trade. http://www.iaea.org The International Atomic Energy Agency works with its Member States and multiple partners worldwide to promote the safe, secure, and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. The website contains many reports and resources on nuclear weapons and how the IAEA and other organizations try to inspect sites and increase safety.

Publisher’s Note: The websites listed on these pages were active at the time of publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites that have changed their address or discontinued operation since the date of publication. The publisher reviews and updates the websites each time the book is reprinted.

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Index Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), 53–54 Afghanistan, 12, 15, 40–41, 63, 68 agreements, arms control, 25, 81, 82, 83–85, 86 See also arms trade aircraft, 10–11, 20, 23, 79 fighter jets, 16, 26, 37, 64, 91 See also military AK-47 assault rifles, 7, 23, 24 Albania, 76 arms fairs, 19, 40 arms manufacturers, 21, 36, 37 arms trade, 15, 16, 23, 51 and arms-control agreements, 25, 81, 82, 83–85, 86 benefits of the, 43–45, 47–49, 51–55 and the boomerang effect, 36, 39–41 and brokering, 35–36, 38–39, 40 and child soldiers, 7–9, 70–71, 80 and children, 68–71 cost of the, to developing nations, 64–65, 67 and defense, 44–45 definition of, 8, 10 and deterrence of conflict, 45,

47 efforts against the, 73–76, 78–81, 83–87 and embargoes, 17, 76, 78 and end-user certificates, 78–79 and exports of weaponry, 15, 36–37, 39, 51–52, 98–99 future of the, 86–87 government efforts against the, 74–76, 78–81, 83–85 history of the, 10–14 illegal, 16–17, 23, 35, 38, 74–75, 83 and imports of weaponry, 38, 52, 96–97 and intrastate conflicts, 58–59 and license loopholes, 80–81 and non-weapon services, 20–21, 64 organizations against the, 49, 86 and prestige purchasing, 44, 47–48 problems caused by the, 57–65, 67–71 and refugees, 63, 66, 67–68 and research and development, 52–55 and strategic balance, 44, 48 and types of weapons, 7, 19–21, 22, 23–27, 29–31, 33

Numbers in bold italics refer to captions.

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value of the, 14, 16, 23, 37, 43, 48–49, 51–52, 65 Arms Trade Treaty of 2013, 83 Australia, 38 biological weapons, 23, 24, 29, 81 See also weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) Biological Weapons Convention of 1975, 81 boomerang effect, 36, 39–41 brokering, 36, 38–39, 40 See also arms trade Campaign against Arms Trade (CAAT), 49, 86 casualties, 22, 61–63, 70 from chemical warfare, 27 of children, 69, 70 chemical weapons, 23, 24, 26–27, 81, 83 See also weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997, 81, 83 child soldiers, 7–9, 70–71, 80 China, 16, 27, 35, 36, 37, 60, 84 Cold War, 8, 12–13, 23, 45, 46, 47–48, 51, 60 defense industry, 49, 50 See also military Democratic Republic of the Congo, 28, 62, 64 disarmament programs, 74, 76, 77, 81, 82, 84–85 Egypt, 38 Eisenhower, Dwight D., 84 embargoes, arms, 17, 76, 78 end-user certificates, 78–79 exports, arms, 15, 36–37, 39, 51–52, 98–99

See also arms trade fighter jets, 16, 26, 37, 64, 91 See also aircraft France, 16, 27, 36 Germany, 16, 36 Guterres, Antonio, 68 handguns, 20, 22, 23 imports, arms, 38, 52, 96–97 See also arms trade India, 14, 27, 32, 35, 38, 60, 65, 84–85 Indonesia, 79, 80–81 Industrial Revolution, 10 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), 46 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treat of 1988, 83 International Campaign to Ban Landmines, 86 intrastate conflicts, 58–59 Iran, 59, 76, 85 Iraq, 44, 63, 76 Israel, 27, 57, 84–85, 91 Lakhani, Hemant, 74–75 landmines, 9, 15, 23, 28, 29–31, 33, 61, 62, 70 cost of removing, 29 and the Ottawa Treaty, 83, 84, 86 Llaha, Seran, 76 Mbosi, Kendu, 7–9 military, 10–13, 25, 36, 43, 95–96 and the defense industry, 49, 50 and deterrence of conflict, 45, 47 and prestige purchasing, 47–48

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and research and development, 52–55 sizes of, worldwide, 13, 60 spending on the, 13–14, 15, 21, 64–65, 89–90, 92–93 and strategic balance, 44, 48 UN peacekeeping forces, 44–45 See also arms trade Mine Ban Treaty. See Ottawa Treaty mortars, 7, 8, 23 Mozambique, 81 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), 74, 86 North Korea, 27, 29, 76, 84, 85, 94 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1970, 25, 81, 82, 84–85 nuclear weapons, 13, 23, 24–25, 27, 29, 47, 81, 82, 83, 84–85 See also weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) Ottawa Treaty, 83, 84, 86 Pakistan, 14, 27, 32, 36, 60, 65, 68, 84–85 prestige purchasing, 44, 47–48 Procurement Services International Ltd., 80–81 radar, 53 refugees, 58, 63, 66, 67–68 research projects, 17, 33, 41, 55, 71, 87 Russia, 13, 16, 27, 29, 36, 52, 84, 85 satellites (GPS), 53, 54–55 Saudi Arabia, 16, 35, 38, 52, 59 Somalia, 68, 76 South Africa, 76 South Korea, 52, 84

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South Sudan, 15, 69 Soviet Union, 8, 12–13, 23, 46, 47, 51, 60, 83, 84 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties I and II, 83 strategic balance, 44, 48 Syria, 26–27, 29, 66, 68, 69 tanks, 11–12 Tutu, Desmond, 70 Uganda, 7–9, 67, 80 United Arab Emirates (UAE), 36, 38, 91 United Kingdom, 27, 36, 49 United Nations, 16, 67–68, 69, 73, 76 peacekeeping forces, 44–45 weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), 20, 23–27, 29 biological weapons, 23, 24, 29, 81 chemical weapons, 23, 24, 26–27, 81, 83 nuclear weapons, 13, 23, 24–25, 27, 29, 47, 81, 82, 83, 84–85 See also arms trade World War I, 10–11, 24, 39–40 World War II, 11–12, 25, 53, 63 Zaharoff, Basil (“merchant of death”), 10

About the Author Dan Marcovitz studied history at Western Kentucky University. He works as a freelance writer and editor. This is his first book for young people.

Picture Credits: Everett Historical: 42; Library of Congress: 11; National Museum of the US Air Force: 46; used under license from Shutterstock, Inc.: 1, 2, 9, 22, 39, 50, 53, 54, 82, 88; Sarine Arslanian / Shutterstock.com: 6; Astrelok / Shutterstock.com: 94; Volodymyr Borodin / Shutterstock.com: 25; ChameleonsEye / Shutterstock.com: 34; Dmitry Chulov / Shutterstock.com: 59; Istvan Csak / Shutterstock.com: 66; Thomas D. Dittmer / Shutterstock.com: 91; Sadik Gulec / Shutterstock.com: 56; Anton Gvozdikov / Shutterstock.com: 26; Jointstar / Shutterstock.com: 21; Vladimir Melnik / Shutterstock.com: 32; Punghi / Shutterstock.com: 15; Jeremy Richards / Shutterstock.com: 60; Sementer / Shutterstock.com: 105; Jordan Tan / Shutterstock.com: 37; Dietmar Temps / Shutterstock.com: 24; Tinxi / Shutterstock.com: 18; Thor Jorgen Udvang / Shutterstock.com: 40; United Nations photo: 12, 27, 28, 30, 31, 45, 61, 62, 69, 72, 75, 77, 78, 80, 85; US Drug Enforcement Administration: 79; US Air Force: 16.

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