Society Under Siege: Crime, Violence and Illegal Weapons

This executive summary introduces a volume titled 'Society Under Siege: Crime, Violence and Illegal Weapons,' which examines the intersection of transnational organized crime, the proliferation of light weapons, and intra-state conflict, with a specific focus on Africa and Southern Africa.

• The post-Cold War era has seen light weapons emerge as a primary destabilizing force in international and national security, as they are frequently used in ethnic and religious conflicts, territorial disputes, and nationalism.
• Transnational criminal organizations exploit the transition to democracy and free markets, utilizing networks that operate across borders and bonding mechanisms to facilitate crime in environments with weak judicial and law enforcement capabilities.
• The black market for light weapons has expanded significantly since the 1980s due to the collapse of supply-side controls and the integration of arms deals into a broader matrix of illegal transactions involving drugs and counterfeit goods.

APA

Gamba, V. (n.d.). Society Under Siege: Crime, Violence and Illegal Weapons. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTRODUCTION.PDF

Chicago

Gamba, Virginia. Society Under Siege: Crime, Violence and Illegal Weapons. Institute for Security Studies, n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTRODUCTION.PDF.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gamba |first1=Virginia |title=Society Under Siege: Crime, Violence and Illegal Weapons |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTRODUCTION.PDF |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gambandsociety, author = {Gamba, Virginia}, title = {{Society Under Siege: Crime, Violence and Illegal Weapons}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/INTRODUCTION.PDF}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }