Firearms were suppressed in Tokugawa-era Japan because it was in the interests of the ruling elite to do so. Are the political elites of modern nations similarly motivated to prevent the development...

Firearms were suppressed in Tokugawa-era Japan because it was in the interests of the ruling elite to do so. Are the political elites of modern nations similarly motivated to prevent the development and use of new weapons? Do individual nations differ from one another in this regard?