Arms Proliferation and Its Implication: A Case Study of South Sudan

Authors

  • OSAZUWA Joseph. A Department of Political Science, University of Delta, Agbor, Delta State

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17605/cajssh.v6i2.1182

Keywords:

arms, arms proliferation, implication, insecurity, porous border, crime, inter-communal tension

Abstract

This study posits that a principal obstacle to peace and security in South Sudan is the presence and continuous proliferation of arms, which substantially exacerbates the destruction of lives and property and heightens inter-communal tensions, ultimately leading to widespread conflict. The bulk of South Sudan's borders are porous. Thus, enabling the entry of firearms, drugs, and human trafficking. Furthermore, the widespread corruption in South Sudan intensifies the security challenges confronting both the state and the region. This study examines the spread of weaponry and its ramifications. It assesses the initiatives of the South Sudanese government and the region in tackling the problem, with the objective of offering suggestions for a durable solution to the crisis in South Sudan. This study utilizes conflict theory. The escalation of armaments in South Sudan is mostly ascribed to a debilitated economy, the government's failure to provide fundamental services, insecurity, rising unemployment rates, and, most critically, corruption, which combined obstruct effective strategies to address this problem. It is strongly advocated that comprehensive efforts be deployed at all levels to address the challenges of weapons proliferation in South Sudan, considering the country's critical role in regional, continental, and global security. The government of South Sudan should provide or augment non-military logistical assistance for its citizens. China and Russia need not to, owing to economic interests and investments in South Sudan, persist in endorsing the atrocities committed against individuals with small arms and light weaponry.

References

. Stohl and E. Hogendoorn, Small Arms, Crime, and Conflict: Global Governance and the Threat of Armed Violence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

. Geneva Declaration Secretariat, Global Burden of Armed Violence 2011: Lethal Encounters. Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2011.

. United Nations, Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms (A/52/298). United Nations General Assembly, 1997.

. Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2001: Profiling the Problem. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

. A. Karp, Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers. Small Arms Survey, 2018.

. N. Florquin and E. Berman, Armed and Aimless: Armed Groups, Guns, and Human Security in the ECOWAS Region. Small Arms Survey, 2005.

. T. Tulliu and T. Schmalberger, Disarmament and Conflict Prevention in Development Cooperation. UN Institute for Disarmament Research, 2003.

. United Nations, Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. UN General Assembly, 1997.

. Small Arms Survey, Small Arms Survey 2001. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.

. J. Boutwell and M. T. Klare, Light Weapons and Civil Conflict: Controlling the Tools of Violence. Rowman & Littlefield, 1999.

. N. Florquin and E. Berman, Small Arms Survey 2008: Risk and Resilience. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008.

. A. Karp, Global Firearms Holdings Trends. Small Arms Survey, 2018.

. Graduate Institute of International Studies, Small Arms Survey 2001: Profiling the Problem. Geneva: Oxford University Press, 2001.

. United Nations, Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms (A/52/298). UN General Assembly, 1997.

. Pearson, Arms Trade and Political Conflict. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

. United Nations, Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. UN General Assembly, 1997.

. U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Political-Military Affairs Report on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Washington, D.C., 2001.

. M. Michael, Small Arms and Security: Global Trends in Arms Control. New York: Routledge, 1994.

. NATO, NATO Armament Definitions and Military Specifications, 1983.

. O. Ochoche, The Challenges of Arms Control in West Africa. ECOWAS Research Paper, 2001.

. A. Musa, Small Arms: A Time Bomb Under West Africa’s Democratization Process, Brown Journal of Affairs, vol. 9, no. 1, 2002.

. A. Bah, Implementing the ECOWAS Moratorium in Post-war Sierra Leone, Peacebuilding Coordination Committee, 2004.

. I. A. Badmus, Managing Arms in Peace Processes: ECOWAS and the West African Civil Conflicts, WP/CEAUP/2009.

. K. Marx, Das Kapital, Hamburg: Verlag von Otto Meissner, 1867.

. A. B. Tickner, War and Conflict, New York: Routledge, 2020.

. United Nations, Report of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms (A/52/298), UN General Assembly, 1997.

. J. Brauer and P. Dunne, Arming the South: The Economics of Military Expenditure, Arms Production, and Arms Trade in Developing Countries, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

. J. Brauer and P. Dunne, Arming the South: The Economics of Military Expenditure, Arms Production, and Arms Trade in Developing Countries, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.

. Pearson, Arms Trade and Political Conflict, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

. Country-Data, Military Expenditure and Arms Acquisition in South Sudan, Available at: www.country-data.com/egi, 2018.

. A. Tickner, War and Conflict, New York: Routledge, 2020.

. J. Prunier, Africa’s World War: Congo, the Rwandan Genocide, and the Making of a Continental Catastrophe, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

. A. de Waal, The Real Politics of the Horn of Africa: Money, War and the Business of Power, London: Polity Press, 2015.

. T. Tull and J. Young, The Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): Threats and Opportunities for Peacebuilding, Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2009.

. A. Bah, Implementing the ECOWAS Moratorium in Post-war Sierra Leone, Peacebuilding Coordination Committee, 2004.

. P. LeRiche and M. Arnold, South Sudan: From Revolution to Independence, London: Hurst Publishers, 2012.

. United Nations, Report of the Panel of Experts on Sudan (S/2015/31), UN Security Council, 2015.

. Ukrspetsexport, Ukraine’s Military Exports: An Overview, 2015.

. United Nations, Report on Arms Transfers in South Sudan, UN Security Council, 2015.

. Rosoboronexport, Military Cooperation between Russia and South Sudan, 2012.

. Small Arms Survey, Weapons Flow in the Sudans: Tracking Illicit Transfers, Geneva, 2014.

. Streit Group, Armored Vehicle Sales to Africa, 2014.

. A. Karp, Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers, Small Arms Survey, 2018.

. South African National Arms Export Report, Sales to Sub-Saharan Africa, 2013.

. United Nations, Final Report of the Panel of Experts on South Sudan (S/2016/793), UN Security Council, 2016.

. International Arms Trade Report, Kenya’s Role in South Sudan’s Military Procurement, 2014.

. Stohl and E. Hogendoorn, Small Arms, Crime, and Conflict: Global Governance and the Threat of Armed Violence, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010.

. Geneva Declaration Secretariat, Global Burden of Armed Violence 2011: Lethal Encounters, Geneva: Small Arms Survey, 2011.

. K. Aning, The Anatomy of Ghana’s Small Arms Industry: Sources, Distribution, and Impact, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, 2003.

. Ghana National Commission on Small Arms, Annual Report on Small Arms Proliferation in Ghana, 2017.

. D. Bekoe, Trends in Electoral Violence in Africa: Causes, Consequences, and Prevention Strategies, United States Institute of Peace, 2010.

. B. Jones and J. Hoetu, The Role of Small Arms in Electoral Violence: The Case of Côte d'Ivoire 2010, African Security Review, vol. 21, no. 3, 2012.

. Small Arms Survey, Armed Violence and Insecurity in Côte d'Ivoire: Trends and Challenges, Geneva, 2011.

. Onuoha, Proliferation of Small Arms and Insecurity in Nigeria: Causes and Policy Recommendations, African Security Review, vol. 20, no. 2, 2011.

. P. Ayissi and I. Sall, Combating the Proliferation of Small Arms in West Africa, UNIDIR, 2005.

. R. Ngang, Border Security Challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa, African Security Review, vol. 16, no. 3, 2007.

. A. Malhotra, Globalization and the Small Arms Trade: New Challenges for International Security, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.

. Financial Action Task Force, Money Laundering and Arms Trafficking: A Global Challenge, Paris, 2018.

. United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Transnational Crime and Illicit Arms Trafficking, UN Report, 2020.

Downloads

Published

2025-03-31

How to Cite

Joseph. A, O. . (2025). Arms Proliferation and Its Implication: A Case Study of South Sudan . Central Asian Journal of Social Sciences and History, 6(2), 162–177. https://doi.org/10.17605/cajssh.v6i2.1182

Issue

Section

Articles