The Small Arms and Light Weapons Problem in the Western Balkans

Abstract

An estimated 640 million Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) are currently in circulation around the globe. Most human casualties in wars and also most violent criminal acts in peace are committed by the use of SALW. The Western Balkans is a region where SALW were used for defensive and offensive purposes in a series of wars and where they continue to be a problem in the post-conflict time. The current SALW problem in the region refers mainly to the illegal possession, use and proliferation of weapons. Smuggling and illicit trafficking of SALW has become a profitable business, which is conducted by criminal networks along the Balkan smuggling route. Some European terrorist groups also used the Balkan channel to obtain SALW. Also an inseparable part of state-building in the region was actually related to the clandestine smuggling of SALW. The situation has improved by the end of 2008, yet a more comprehensive analytical reflection on the past and present issues in the field of SALW is missing. It is not clear what kind of problem and threat SALW represent in a time of decreasing conventional and probably also organized crime. The aim of this essay is to show the complexity of the SALW problem in the Western Balkans by identifying key lessons to be learnt from the past. My goal is also to identify and elaborate key present challenges. The latter encompass a broad spectrum of problems and dilemmas, which are persistent, complex and cannot be solved over night. These goals can be achieved only if put into a proper introductory context.