Kalashnikov Culture: Small Arms Proliferation and Irregular Warfare

This work is a bridge between the failed/weak states' literature and that which examines issues relating to small arms proliferation. Carr investigates the cultural impact of the availability of these easy-to-come-by weapons. This cultural dynamic has a direct, and deadly impact on issues such as arms control, illegal and illicit trading, gun cultures, the nexus between criminality and militia warfare and the social impact of arms proliferation, and the struggle for weak states who attempt to govern. The case studies will appeal to those with regional or comparative interests. Although the tone is academic, the topics and the subject matter will make this book of interest to those outside of the academic community.

Christopher Carr is associate professor of international security at the U.S. Air War College. He has written and researched on the trade in arms and on the impact of light weapons proliferation on vulnerable societies and is the author ofSecurity Implications of Microdisarmament (2000). He is a contributor to James Forest'sCountering Terrorism and Insurgency in the 21st Century, 3 Volumes (Praeger Security International, 2007). Carr earned his PhD in international relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.