Uppsala Conflict Data Program

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The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is a data collection project on organized violence housed at Uppsala University in Sweden. The program aims to gather information on armed conflict and make it publicly available online and in its annual report, “States in Armed Conflict.” The UCDP collects both quantitative and qualitative data on organized violence (e.g. fatality statistics, georeferenced data, armed actor and conflict descriptions) that is used by social science researchers, journalists and policymakers.

Contents

[edit] Background

The UCDP began recording information on ongoing violent conflicts in the 1970s.[1] It became clear that more systematic and global data on armed conflicts was necessary for the ever-growing academic discipline of peace and conflict studies.

Initially the program collected data only on so-called “armed conflict”, defined as fighting exceeding 25 battle-related deaths between two actors of which at least one had to be a state.[2] In later years the data gathering grew, and the program also began collecting data on “non-state conflicts” (where neither party was a state) and “one-sided violence” (where an organized group attacked unarmed civilians).

The UCDP’s data is published annually in such renowned publications as the SIPRI Yearbook and the Journal of Peace Research. The UCDP also makes its data publicly available through its website and in its annual publication, States in Armed Conflict.

[edit] Organization

The UCDP is located at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, at Uppsala University in Sweden. The program is led by the Dag Hammarskjöld Professor of Peace and Conflict Research, Peter Wallensteen, and employs approximately 15 research assistants and researchers. A number of scholars and Ph.D. candidates are also attached to the program and tasked with carrying out research for the collection of conflict data. In addition to collecting data the program disseminates knowledge on trends and dynamics of armed conflict to the public via lectures at academic and government forums.

[edit] Cooperation

The UCDP works closely with the Peace Research Institute in Oslo (PRIO) and the Human Security Report Project, based within the School for International Studies at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.The UCDP collaborates with PRIO to create its datasets and provides the Human Security Centre with data for its annual publication, the Human Security Report

[edit] Research

Hundreds of scholars have used the UCDP’s data for research. [3] The UCDP couples data collection with research on conflict resolution and the dynamics of conflicts.[1] Much of the research done by UCDP staff is published in the UCDP’s States in Armed Conflict annual report, the annual SIPRI Yearbook, and the Journal of Peace Research.[4]

[edit] Publications

UCDP data has been published in the SIPRI Yearbook since 1988. Since 1993 a list of all armed conflicts also appears in the acclaimed Journal of Peace Research. Data on non-state conflicts appears in the Human Security Report from 2004. The UCDP also releases (annually) its own report, the States in Armed Conflict publication. UCDP data is also frequently used by journalists, government agencies and other organizations to produce overviews of peace and conflict in the world. One prominent index that uses UCDP data is the Global Peace Index.

[edit] The UCDP’s Definitions of Organized Violence

The program divides armed conflict into three categories: “state-based conflict”, “non-state conflict” and “one-sided violence”.

State-based conflict refers to what most people intuitively perceive as “war”; fighting either between two states, or between a state and a rebel group that challenges it. The UCDP defines an armed state-based conflict as: “An armed conflict is a contested incompatibility that concerns government and/or territory where the use of armed force between two parties, of which at least one is the government of a state, results in at least 25 battle-related deaths in one calendar year”.[5] The program’s definition differs somewhat from other data collection programs, such as the Correlates of War Project, which only counts conflicts where at least 1,000 deaths have been recorded during one calendar year. In UCDP data such an armed conflict is labelled as having the intensity level of “war”, whilst armed conflicts that reap between 25 and 999 battle-related deaths are seen as having the intensity of a “minor” armed conflict.[6]

Non-state conflicts are those conflicts in which none of the warring parties is a state. Examples of non-state conflicts include, the Fatah-Hamas conflict of 2006 and 2007, inter-ethnic group conflicts such as the Lou Nuer – Murle conflict of 2009-2012, and inter-cartel violence in the Mexican Drug War.

One-sided violence is defined as: “The use of armed force by the government of a state or by a formally organized group against civilians which results in at least 25 deaths in a year”.[7] Examples include the Governments of Sudan, Myanmar, and Syria against civilians as well as non-state organizations such as Los Zetas, Al Qaeda, and the Lord's Resistance Army against civilians.

[edit] List of state-based conflicts in 2011

In 2011 the UCDP reported 37 active state-based armed conflicts:

Europe • Russia (territory: Caucasus Emirate)

Middle East • Iran (government) • Iraq (government) • Israel (territory: Palestine) • Syria (government) • Turkey (territory: Kurdistan) • Yemen (government)

Asia • Afghanistan (government) • Cambodia, Thailand (territory: common border) • India (territory: Kashmir) • India (government) • Myanmar (territory: Karen) • Myanmar (territory: Kachin) • Myanmar (territory: Shan) • Pakistan (territory: Baluchistan) • Pakistan (government) • Philippines (territory: Mindanao) • Philippines (government) • Tajikistan (government) • Thailand (territory: Patani)

Africa • Algeria (government) • Central African Republic (government) • Ethiopia (territory: Ogaden) • Ethiopia (territory: Oromiya) • Ivory Coast (government) • Libya (government) • Mauritania (government) • Nigeria (government) • Rwanda (government) • Senegal (territory: Casamance) • Somalia (government) • Southern Sudan (government) • Sudan (government) • Sudan (territory: Abyei) • Uganda (government)

Americas • Colombia (government) • USA (government)

Out of these 37 armed conflicts a total of six (Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Somalia and Sudan) reached the intensity level of “War”, meaning that more than 1,000 battle-related deaths were recorded in 2011.

State-Based Armed Conflicts Reaching the intensity of "War" in 2011 or 2012
Start of conflict War/conflict Location Fatalities in 2010 Fatalities in 2011 Fatalities in 2012
2001 War in Afghanistan  Afghanistan 6,377[8] 7,418[9] 7,396 [10]
1991 Somali Civil War  Somalia 2,158[11] 1,917[12] 2,620[13]
2004 War in North-West Pakistan  Pakistan 4,787[14] 2,641[15] 2,705[16]
2004 Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen  Yemen and  Saudi Arabia 175[17] 1,140[17] 2,321 [17]
2011 Libyan civil war  Libya 0 1,928[18] -
2011 Sudananese Civil War  Sudan 931[19] 1,398[20] 1,119 [21]
2011 Syrian Civil War  Syria Syria - 842[22] 15,055[23]
Major Non-State armed conflicts in 2010 or 2011[24]
Warring Parties Location Fatalities in 2010 Fatalities in 2011 Fatalities in 2012
Juarez Cartel vs. Sinaloa Cartel  Mexico 2,515 1,668
Lou Nuer Tribe vs. Murle Tribe  Sudan - 1,415
Christians vs. Muslims  Nigeria - 830
Anagutas, Afisare, and Birom vs. Fulani, Hausa  Nigeria 664 -
Gulf Cartel vs. Los Zetas  Mexico 412 345
Misseria vs. Rizeigat Baggara  Sudan 342 -
Major One-Sided armed conflicts in 2010 or 2011[25]
Violence Perpetrator Location Fatalities in 2010 Fatalities in 2011 Fatalities in 2012
Islamic State of Iraq  Iraq 707 322
Taleban Movement of Pakistan  Pakistan 549 198
Lord’s Resistance Army  Uganda 430 -
Los Zetas  Mexico 86 268
Communist Party of India  India 337 184
Government of Ivory Coast  Ivory Coast - 277
Government of Syria  Syria - 2,924
  • Note: Fatality figures may be substantially lower than other stated estimates as UCDP data does not include fatalities from disease and/or war-time epidemics, or combine casualty figures between different types of armed conflicts. Additionally the figures in the tables represent the UCDP's "best estimate" figures and not its "high estimate" figures.

[edit] UCDP on the Internet

The UCDP’s homepage is located at http://www.ucdp.uu.se . The UCDP also has an on-line database of organised violence, accessible at http://www.ucdp.uu.se/gpdatabase/search.php. The database provides free information on state-based and non-state conflicts, as well as one-sided violence. It also includes descriptive information on causes and histories of conflicts and one-sided violence and brief descriptions of rebel groups, governments and related items.

[edit] UCDP for iPhone and Android

As of July 2010 the UCDP Conflict Database is available as an iPhone application and an Android application.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b UCDP Program Overview, accessed 27 January 2013, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/program_overview/
  2. ^ UCDP definition of armed conflict
  3. ^ Publications using UCDP data, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/publications/Publications_using_UCDP_data/
  4. ^ UCDP Project Publications, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/publications/
  5. ^ UCDP definition of armed conflict
  6. ^ Definition of intensity levels
  7. ^ UCDP definition of one-sided violence
  8. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Afghanistan and Government of United States vs. Taleban, Hizb-i Islami-yi Afghanistan and al-Qaida, "best estimate" for 2010, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  9. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Afghanistan and Government of United States vs. Taleban, Hizb-i Islami-yi Afghanistan and al-Qaida, "best estimate" for 2011, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  10. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Afghanistan and Government of United States vs. Taleban, "best estimate" for 2012, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  11. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Somalia vs. Al-Shabaab, "best estimate" for 2010, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  12. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Somalia vs. Al-Shabaab, "best estimate" for 2011, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  13. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Somalia vs. Al-Shabaab, "best estimate" for 2012, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  14. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Pakistan vs. TTP, "best estimate" for 2010, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  15. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Pakistan vs. TTP and BLA, "best estimate" for 2011, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  16. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Pakistan vs. TTP, TTP-TA, and Lashkar-e-Islam, "best estimate" for 2012, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  17. ^ a b c Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Yemen vs. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, "best estimate" for 2010, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  18. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Libya vs. National Transitional Council and Government of Libya vs. Forces of col. Muammar Gaddafi, "best estimate" for 2011, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  19. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Sudan vs. SLM/A, JEM and SSDM/A, "best estimate" for 2010, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  20. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Sudan vs. SLM/A, JEM,SPLM/A,SSLM/A, SSDM/A, "best estimate" for 2011, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  21. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Sudan vs. SRF, "best estimate" for 2012, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  22. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Syria vs. Free Syrian Army, "best estimate" for 2011, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  23. ^ Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Government of Syria vs. Free Syrian Army and Jabhat al-Nusra li al-Sham, "best estimate" for 2012, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_battle-related_deaths_dataset/
  24. ^ >Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Best estimate figures given, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_non-state_conflict_dataset_/
  25. ^ >Uppsala Conflict Data Program data, Best estimate figures given, http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/datasets/ucdp_one-sided_violence_dataset/

[edit] External links

UCDP redirects here. It can also mean United Christian Democratic Party
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