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Email this citationCIAO DATE: 10/05
Politics from the Barrel of a Gun: Small Arms Proliferation and Conflict in the Republic of Georgia
Spyros Demetriou
November, 2002
Abstract
Over ten years have elapsed since the Soviet Union collapsed in late 1991. Radical transitions from one political system to another are by definition conflict-prone, involving fierce competition between differing visions, fluid political affiliations, social activism, power vacuums, and severe economic crises—if not collapse. In such contexts of instability and uncertainty, the recourse to armed violence —as a form of expression and an instrument of power—is an attractive option. The collapse of the USSR engendered a radical transition culminating in the creation of 15 internationally recognized states. Although for the most part surprisingly peaceful, the transition to independence in four states— Tajikistan, Azerbaijan, Moldova, and Georgia—was marked by widespread violence.
This study focuses on one of these states, Georgia, and on one particular part of the violent transition to independence in Georgia, namely, the role played by small arms and light weapons. It attempts to shed light on how small arms proliferation and use framed the several conflicts that characterized Georgia's transition to independence, continue to perpetuate widespread insecurity and instability, and hinder development and reconstruction. In so doing, this study hopes to shed light on the human costs of Soviet collapse, and in particular the devastating impacts of armed violence as a means to achieve post-Soviet political objectives.
