Cashing in on Guns: Identifying the Nexus between Small Arms, Light Weapons and Terrorist Financing
24 Mar 2021
This report presents the main findings of ICCT’s year-long research project on Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) as a source of terrorism financing. Chapters 2 and 3 take a regional focus and explore this phenomenon in respectively West Africa and the Middle East. Chapter 4 then investigates the possible role that DDR programmes can play in reducing SALW flows. Chapter 5 assesses the existing legal and policy frameworks from a multitude of angles. Chapter 6 reflects on the short and long-term implications the possession and identified use of SALW by terrorist groups has for Europe. The final chapter considers the various direct and indirect ways through which terrorists are ‘Cashing in on Guns’, and lists a number of policy recommendations for the EU to take a step forward in addressing this phenomenon.
Table of Contents
This section contains the report’s cover, copyright information, information about the authors, a list of frequently used acronyms, and the table of contents.
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This section summarises the main findings of the report’s five analytical chapters as well as its reflections presented in the concluding chapter.
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By Tanya Mehra and Méryl Demuynck
This introduction presents the objectives of the study, the main research questions as well as the approach adopted within the framework of this research, while providing an overview of the following chapters.
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This introduction presents the objectives of the study, the main research questions as well as the approach adopted within the framework of this research, while providing an overview of the following chapters.
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By Méryl Demuynck
This chapter provides an overview of the nexus between small arms, light weapons and terrorist financing in West Africa. Following a brief introduction on the regional terrorist landscape, it explores the characteristics of terrorist organisations’ possession and acquisition of SALW, as well as the direct and indirect use of SALW as a source of terrorist finance in the region.
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This chapter provides an overview of the nexus between small arms, light weapons and terrorist financing in West Africa. Following a brief introduction on the regional terrorist landscape, it explores the characteristics of terrorist organisations’ possession and acquisition of SALW, as well as the direct and indirect use of SALW as a source of terrorist finance in the region.
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By Colin Clarke and Cameron Lumley
This chapter provides an overview of the nexus between small arms, light weapons and terrorist financing in the Middle East. Following a brief introduction on the regional terrorist landscape, it explores the characteristics of terrorist organisations’ possession and acquisition of SALW, as well as the direct and indirect use of SALW as a source of terrorist finance in the region.
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This chapter provides an overview of the nexus between small arms, light weapons and terrorist financing in the Middle East. Following a brief introduction on the regional terrorist landscape, it explores the characteristics of terrorist organisations’ possession and acquisition of SALW, as well as the direct and indirect use of SALW as a source of terrorist finance in the region.
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By Tanya Mehra and Matthew Wentworth
This chapter considers the increasing involvement of terrorist groups in conflicts and the changing nature of warfare, as well as how DDR programmes have evolved in the last decade, and explores how the interplay of these dynamics might contribute to reducing the trafficking and possession of SALW by terrorist groups.
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This chapter considers the increasing involvement of terrorist groups in conflicts and the changing nature of warfare, as well as how DDR programmes have evolved in the last decade, and explores how the interplay of these dynamics might contribute to reducing the trafficking and possession of SALW by terrorist groups.
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By Nils Duquet, Tanya Mehra and Colin Clarke
This chapter analyses existing legal and policy frameworks, as well as different tools and lenses through which the acquisition and use of SALW by terrorist organisations may be addressed, including arms control, criminal justice and organised crime, and combatting terrorist finance (CFT) perspectives.
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This chapter analyses existing legal and policy frameworks, as well as different tools and lenses through which the acquisition and use of SALW by terrorist organisations may be addressed, including arms control, criminal justice and organised crime, and combatting terrorist finance (CFT) perspectives.
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By Nils Duquet
This chapter analyses the various short- and long-term consequences that the possession and identified use of SALW by terrorist organisations as a source of finance in West Africa and the Middle East may have for Europe.
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This chapter analyses the various short- and long-term consequences that the possession and identified use of SALW by terrorist organisations as a source of finance in West Africa and the Middle East may have for Europe.
Download
By Tanya Mehra and Méryl Demuynck
This final chapter provides an overview of the main research findings, including a comparison of the dynamics observed in West Africa and the Middle East, and finally considers the scope for improvement and presents ten policy recommendations for the EU to take a step forward in addressing this phenomenon.
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This final chapter provides an overview of the main research findings, including a comparison of the dynamics observed in West Africa and the Middle East, and finally considers the scope for improvement and presents ten policy recommendations for the EU to take a step forward in addressing this phenomenon.
Download
Download the full publication here.
Other reports in the series include:
- ICCT Situation Report: The Use of SALW by Terrorist Organisations as a Source of Finance in the Middle East and North Africa. Read the report here.
- ICCT Situation Report: The Use of SALW by Terrorist Organisations as a Source of Finance in South and Southeast Asia. Read the report here.
- ICCT Situation Report: The Use of SALW by Terrorist Organisations as a Source of Finance in West Africa and the Horn of Africa. Read the report here.
- Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) Trafficking, Smuggling, and Use for Criminality by Terrorists and Insurgents: A Brief Historical Overview. Read the report here.
- The Use of Small Arms and Light Weapons by Terrorist Organisations as a Source of Finance Synthesis Report. Read the report here.