Microdisarmament: The Consequences for Public Safety and Human Rights

45 Pages Posted: 15 Jun 2005

See all articles by David B. Kopel

David B. Kopel

University of Wyoming College of Law - Firearms Research Center; Independence Institute; Cato Institute; Denver University - Sturm College of Law

Paul Gallant

Independence Institute

Joanne D. Eisen

Independence Institute

Abstract

Today, many international gun prohibition advocates have recognized that, even though world-wide gun prohibition is not achievable in the near future, gun prohibition can be advanced in individual nations. Single-country (or single-region) gun prohibition is called micro-disarmament. Success stories of micro-disarmament are a very important part of international gun prohibition advocacy. This articles examines six case studies of microdisarmament. In three of those cases - Albania, Bougainville, and Cambodia - microdisarmament has seriously harmed human rights. Limited disarmament in rural Guatemala was followed by a crime wave, but it is not clear that the former caused the latter. In San Miguelito, Panamana, there was a successful program to convince youthful gangsters to surrender their guns, in exchange for participation in a government jobs program. In Mali, northern tribes rebelled against the corrupt central government which starved and oppressed them. After the central kleptocarcy was replaced with a democratic government, the new government recognized that the northern rebellion could not be violently defeated; when the new government agreed to respect the rights of the northern tribes, the northern tribes laid down their arms. In Mali, disarmament was not the cause of peace, but rather the result of a successful war for indigenous self-determination.

Keywords: Microdisarmament, human rights, Albania, Bougainville, Cambodia, Guatemala, Panama, Mali

JEL Classification: H11,H40,H56,I38,J15,K14,K42,N44,N45,N46,N47

Suggested Citation

Kopel, David B. and Gallant, Paul and Eisen, Joanne D., Microdisarmament: The Consequences for Public Safety and Human Rights. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=742626

David B. Kopel (Contact Author)

University of Wyoming College of Law - Firearms Research Center ( email )

United States

HOME PAGE: http://firearmsresearchcenter.org/

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Cato Institute ( email )

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Denver University - Sturm College of Law ( email )

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Paul Gallant

Independence Institute ( email )

14142 Denver West Parkway
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United States

Joanne D. Eisen

Independence Institute ( email )

14142 Denver West Parkway
Golden, CO 80401
United States

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