Stratfor (Strategic Forecasting), a private intelligence consultancy, has released some interesting new analysis in its weekly security report. The piece Mexico: Economics and the Arms Trade gives good insight into the economics of the gun-running that keeps the narco-insurgency along the Mexican-US border going. That analysis is valuable… but so is the good insight the piece provides on the general economy of weapons sales:
“When analysts examine arms sales they look at three general categories: the white arms market, the gray arms market and the black arms market. The white arms market is the legal, aboveboard transfer of weapons in accordance with the national laws of the parties involved and international treaties or restrictions…”
“…the white arms market can be deceived and manipulated, and when this happens, we get the gray market — literally, white arms that are shifted into the hands of someone other than the purported recipient…”
“… At the far end of the spectrum is the black arms market where the guns are contraband from the get-go and all the business is conducted under the table. There are no end-user certificates and the weapons are smuggled covertly.” (STRATFOR)
There are a couple other great sources on the logistics and economics of the arms market:
- The article Weaponomics: the Global Market for Assault Rifles by Phillip Killicoat (for the World Bank) gives interesting insights into how one of the lifebloods of civil conflict, the Kalashnikov rifle, moves in international markets. (World Bank)
- Frontline did a great documentary about the international arms trade: Sierra Leone – Gunrunners. You can watch the film, and read excellent supplementary materials at PBS’s website. (PBS Frontline)
-Portfolio (which has sadly recently ended publication) did an excellent profile on the weapons pipeline from the United States to Mexican drug traffickers. (Portfolio)
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