Project Description 

How do small arms circulate in Latin America? How do they flow through national borders and across national territories, between the hands of state and non-state actors, between legality and illegality? This project proposes to tackle the scarcity of data and analysis on this circulation by examining the anatomy of an automatic rifle. This anatomy will have three layers. Firstly, it will address the politics of its production, both in its technical components and ammunition. Secondly, it will follow the circulation and movement of rifles within and through the region, in legal and illegal flows and create a database combining quantitative data on imports and exports, illegal trafficking, and diversion of rifles, components and ammunition. Thirdly, it will build a cartography of national, regional, and international norms on the control of these flows and their adoption and implementation in Latin America. Mixed Methods research will combine the analysis of official and independently-gathered quantitative and qualitative data on the production, circulation, and control of rifles and ammunition; and the comprehensive study of emblematic stories, based on document analysis and in-depth interviews with local experts and partners, to shed light on all layers of this anatomy and reveal its effects on peace, security, and development in the region. In 2023, the first seminar with the project’s Latin American partners was held in Rio. The seminar was titled "Transnational Arms Flows in Latin America: Trends and Challenges". The event was held by IRI/PUC-Rio in collaboration with the CCDP and the Small Arms Survey, with the support of FAPERJ and the Swiss Network for International Studies (SNIS). The project also participated in the SNIS launch event with a presentation by Nicolas Florquin and Pedro Maia.

Background 

This project is funded through a grant from the Swiss Network of International Studies (SNIS). 

timeline 

August 2023- August 2025