Constraining Conventional Arms Transfers

Interest in restraining the conventional arms trade has intensified in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union and the Persian Gulf war as well as in the face of continuing hostilities in Bosnia, Somalia, and elsewhere. Analysts differ considerably, however, over whether the new features of the post-Cold War security landscape create an environment more conducive or more hostile to future arms trade restraint. Developed and developing countries must cooperate on technology transfer and other aspects of the conventional arms trade problem to devise new approaches to replace traditional efforts focused on constraining supply that are virtually doomed to failure in the future. The need for nontraditional approaches is especially strong in the face of the difficulties for both suppliers and recipients in balancing the competing and complex political, economic, and security interests at work in arms transfer decisions. New approaches should be built on the foundations of the initiation of supplier-recipient dialogues, intensified regional arms control efforts, and heightened transparency and confidence building in arms trade transactions.