Diamonds by Ian Smillie
May. 4th, 2014 08:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Diamonds are a multi-billion-dollar business involving some of the world’s largest mining companies, a million and a half artisanal diggers, more than a million cutters and polishers, and a huge retail jewelry sector. But behind the sparkle of the diamond lies a murkier story, in which rebel armies in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Congo turned to diamonds to finance their wars. Completely unregulated, so-called ‘blood diamonds’ became the perfect tool for money laundering, tax evasion, drug-running, and weapons-trafficking.
Diamonds brings together for the first time all aspects of the diamond industry. In it, Ian Smillie, former UN Security Council investigator and leading figure in the blood diamonds campaign, offers a comprehensive analysis of the history and structure of today’s diamond trade, the struggle for effective regulation, and the challenges ahead. There is, he argues, greater diversification and competition than ever before, but, thanks to changed attitudes and greater transparency, this coveted and prestigious gem now represents a fragile but renewed opportunity for development in some of the world’s poorest nations. This part of the diamond story has rarely been told.
As a former investigator to the UN Security Council and having been involved in setting up the Kimberley Process, Ian Smillie is well qualified to write this excellent summary of the diamond industry – from its murky roots to its murkier current form and the failure of attempts to regulate it. The book deals with the geology and history of diamonds, how the diamond industry works, blood diamonds, activism, regulation, power and politics, development and a sweep up conclusion chapter. The strongest chapters are those on blood diamonds, activism and regulation with Smillie using his insider knowledge to give insights onto how the Kimberley Process came into being and why the regulation is failing (including a coherent explanation of how blood diamonds are traded and why it’s so difficult to control them). I admired the fact that he acknowledges the failure of the Kimberley Process despite his involvement with it and his even-handed analysis is a major strength of the book. There’s a comprehensive index and notes, but I was slightly disappointed in the Further Reading section, which I’d hoped would have been more extensive (although I liked Smillie’s notes on each suggested book). As a short book it cannot give an in-depth look at the whole industry but is nonetheless an excellent starting point and gives the reader a good platform to do further research if they’re interested. All in all, it’s a must-read primer for anyone with an interest on the topic.
Smillie is completely open about why it’s so difficult to regulate the diamond industry. He explains how the geology of alluvial diamonds makes it impossible to secure sites while the widespread existence of artisan miners makes it impossible to control who is looking to sell. Notwithstanding this, it’s depressing at how little the industry and international governments are at tackling the issue and Smillie is particularly damning in showing how the Kimberley Process has failed to get to grips with those countries that flout what little regulation that exists. What does come through is the importance of NGOs in driving forward attempts to regulate the sector, particularly Partnership Africa Canada whose detailed investigations are thorough and damning (and it’s telling that the governments investigated choose to attack the messenger rather than respond to the charges). Ultimately, this is a great starting point for anyone interested in the industry and on that basis, I’d thoroughly recommend it.
The Verdict:
As a former investigator to the UN Security Council and having been involved in setting up the Kimberley Process, Ian Smillie is well qualified to write this excellent summary of the diamond industry – from its murky roots to its murkier current form and the failure of attempts to regulate it. The book deals with the geology and history of diamonds, how the diamond industry works, blood diamonds, activism, regulation, power and politics, development and a sweep up conclusion chapter. The strongest chapters are those on blood diamonds, activism and regulation with Smillie using his insider knowledge to give insights onto how the Kimberley Process came into being and why the regulation is failing (including a coherent explanation of how blood diamonds are traded and why it’s so difficult to control them). I admired the fact that he acknowledges the failure of the Kimberley Process despite his involvement with it and his even-handed analysis is a major strength of the book. There’s a comprehensive index and notes, but I was slightly disappointed in the Further Reading section, which I’d hoped would have been more extensive (although I liked Smillie’s notes on each suggested book). As a short book it cannot give an in-depth look at the whole industry but is nonetheless an excellent starting point and gives the reader a good platform to do further research if they’re interested. All in all, it’s a must-read primer for anyone with an interest on the topic.
DIAMONDS was released in the United Kingdom on 28th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
Diamonds are a multi-billion-dollar business involving some of the world’s largest mining companies, a million and a half artisanal diggers, more than a million cutters and polishers, and a huge retail jewelry sector. But behind the sparkle of the diamond lies a murkier story, in which rebel armies in Angola, Sierra Leone, and the Congo turned to diamonds to finance their wars. Completely unregulated, so-called ‘blood diamonds’ became the perfect tool for money laundering, tax evasion, drug-running, and weapons-trafficking.
Diamonds brings together for the first time all aspects of the diamond industry. In it, Ian Smillie, former UN Security Council investigator and leading figure in the blood diamonds campaign, offers a comprehensive analysis of the history and structure of today’s diamond trade, the struggle for effective regulation, and the challenges ahead. There is, he argues, greater diversification and competition than ever before, but, thanks to changed attitudes and greater transparency, this coveted and prestigious gem now represents a fragile but renewed opportunity for development in some of the world’s poorest nations. This part of the diamond story has rarely been told.
As a former investigator to the UN Security Council and having been involved in setting up the Kimberley Process, Ian Smillie is well qualified to write this excellent summary of the diamond industry – from its murky roots to its murkier current form and the failure of attempts to regulate it. The book deals with the geology and history of diamonds, how the diamond industry works, blood diamonds, activism, regulation, power and politics, development and a sweep up conclusion chapter. The strongest chapters are those on blood diamonds, activism and regulation with Smillie using his insider knowledge to give insights onto how the Kimberley Process came into being and why the regulation is failing (including a coherent explanation of how blood diamonds are traded and why it’s so difficult to control them). I admired the fact that he acknowledges the failure of the Kimberley Process despite his involvement with it and his even-handed analysis is a major strength of the book. There’s a comprehensive index and notes, but I was slightly disappointed in the Further Reading section, which I’d hoped would have been more extensive (although I liked Smillie’s notes on each suggested book). As a short book it cannot give an in-depth look at the whole industry but is nonetheless an excellent starting point and gives the reader a good platform to do further research if they’re interested. All in all, it’s a must-read primer for anyone with an interest on the topic.
Smillie is completely open about why it’s so difficult to regulate the diamond industry. He explains how the geology of alluvial diamonds makes it impossible to secure sites while the widespread existence of artisan miners makes it impossible to control who is looking to sell. Notwithstanding this, it’s depressing at how little the industry and international governments are at tackling the issue and Smillie is particularly damning in showing how the Kimberley Process has failed to get to grips with those countries that flout what little regulation that exists. What does come through is the importance of NGOs in driving forward attempts to regulate the sector, particularly Partnership Africa Canada whose detailed investigations are thorough and damning (and it’s telling that the governments investigated choose to attack the messenger rather than respond to the charges). Ultimately, this is a great starting point for anyone interested in the industry and on that basis, I’d thoroughly recommend it.
The Verdict:
As a former investigator to the UN Security Council and having been involved in setting up the Kimberley Process, Ian Smillie is well qualified to write this excellent summary of the diamond industry – from its murky roots to its murkier current form and the failure of attempts to regulate it. The book deals with the geology and history of diamonds, how the diamond industry works, blood diamonds, activism, regulation, power and politics, development and a sweep up conclusion chapter. The strongest chapters are those on blood diamonds, activism and regulation with Smillie using his insider knowledge to give insights onto how the Kimberley Process came into being and why the regulation is failing (including a coherent explanation of how blood diamonds are traded and why it’s so difficult to control them). I admired the fact that he acknowledges the failure of the Kimberley Process despite his involvement with it and his even-handed analysis is a major strength of the book. There’s a comprehensive index and notes, but I was slightly disappointed in the Further Reading section, which I’d hoped would have been more extensive (although I liked Smillie’s notes on each suggested book). As a short book it cannot give an in-depth look at the whole industry but is nonetheless an excellent starting point and gives the reader a good platform to do further research if they’re interested. All in all, it’s a must-read primer for anyone with an interest on the topic.
DIAMONDS was released in the United Kingdom on 28th February 2014. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the ARC of this book.
