Society Under Siege II

This report, part of the 'Society Under Siege' series, examines the proliferation of small arms in Southern Africa and evaluates the international and regional structures available to combat illicit trafficking. It argues for a shift toward an integrated 'security-first' approach, emphasizing the need for SADC member states to move beyond national thinking toward a coordinated regional strategy that addresses both the supply and demand of weapons.

• The proliferation of small arms in Africa is driven by a combination of historical legacies and current demands, complicated by systemic failures including corruption, lack of technical and human capacity, and the presence of long, porous borders.
• The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has faced internal structural challenges that have hindered arms control, specifically a tendency to separate security and development functions into two different agencies, which the author argues should be reintegrated into a 'security first' or 'holistic' approach.
• To effectively control small arms, the report proposes ten specific goals for the region, including the identification of source and transit countries, the creation of an early warning system for light weapons, and the implementation of disarmament and demobilisation programmes.
• The report suggests that Southern African nations can benefit from the experiences of the European Union (EU) and the Organization of American States (OAS) in coordinating arms control, while noting that EU arms exports to Africa remain high despite attempts to be more responsible.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Society Under Siege II. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CONCLUS.PDF

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Society Under Siege II. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CONCLUS.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Society Under Siege II |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CONCLUS.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndsociety, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Society Under Siege II}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/CONCLUS.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }