Latin America: Call for Papers: Firearms and policy in the region

08 July 2010

Gun violence in Latin America has risen sharply following internal armed struggles and the emergence of drug trafficking in the late 1970s and 80s. Today, it is one of the most dramatic threats to public safety in the region, thwarting development efforts and seriously undermining democratic reforms and the implementation of basic human rights.

While Colombia is the only country engaged in a declared conflict, the distinction between war and peace is blurred elsewhere on the continent. Socio-economic inequalities, corruption and brutality among security forces, and the easy availability of small arms and light weapons have set the stage for some of the worst rates of violent crime and murder in the world, especially in large cities.

FLACSO (Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Latin American Social Sciences Institute), an inter-government autonomous organisation for Latin America and the Caribbean dedicated to research and teaching, has chosen to focus an edition of its journal on the topic and is inviting contributions from IANSA members.

A forthcoming edition of the FLACSO-UVIRO journal will focus on firearms in Latin America, and gun policy in general. The main areas covered will be:

firearms possession, proliferation and use;
firearms impact on citizen security, women, health, culture, social bonds and development, and
evaluation of firearm control policies and disarmament.

Contributions can be sent in English, Spanish or Portuguese

For more information please contact Mg. Alejandra Otamendi who is coordinating the publication, email: motamen@gmail.com

Source:
FLACSO