Citation

Hultin N. Am. Ethnol. 2015; 42(1): 68-80.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/amet.12116

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Among Gambians, attitudes toward small arms control vary. For some, it appears as the unjust act of an overbearing and autocratic government; for others, it is part of the project of fashioning a modern state; for yet others, being licensed to carry a gun is a sign of respect from the state. On the basis of these differences, I develop the notion of leaky humanitarianism to capture how humanitarian small arms control underwrites state power. I further suggest that small arms control should be understood as a form of statecraft centered on injuring power and is thus a potent but underused diagnostic in the anthropology of the state.

Language: en