ABSTRACT
Small arms diplomacy and research are old companions—mostly keeping on good terms, but sometimes quarrelling. This chapter examines some of the strands that have tied policy to research since the adoption of the United Nations (UN) Programme of Action on Small Arms (PoA) (UNGA, 2001b) in July 2001. While it will not examine in any detail the complex mix of factors that underpin specific policy outputs, the chapter will highlight the many instances where the influence of research on the UN small arms process has appeared relatively strong—as well as the cases where research has run aground on national and multilateral politics.
