Somalia: State Collapse and the Proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons

Abstract

The collapse and volatility of the state in Somalia have been intricately linked to the dynamic proliferation of illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALWs) in the aftermath of the decades long-running conflict. Today Somalia and the Horn of Africa are awash with arms fuelling violence and war economy. Porous borders, weak governance and dysfunctional national security apparatus, present a major challenge for controlling the proliferation of SALWs across the region. International and regional efforts for arms control not least the Nairobi Declaration on the problems of the proliferation of illicit SALWs in the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa has not made headway in terms of containment. The prevalence of ungoverned spaces and resurgent violent non-state actors within the Somalian state opened up the spaces of illicit arms trade. This chapter examines the dynamics of proliferation of SALWs in Somalia. It explores the historical antecedents—post-Barre state collapse, the incubation of radical Islamist groups such as Al-Shaabab, local dynamics, regional trends and global intersections. The problem of fragile governance institutions, lack of security sector reform, absence of post-conflict reconstruction programmes by external donors to stem the tide of poverty and underdevelopment, lack of a centrally coordinating mechanism and lack of international cooperation on a mechanism to control the flow of SALWs particularly control of illicit arms transfer to Somalia profoundly remain the major obstacles to peacebuilding and disarmament.