Uppsala Conflict Data Program

{{Short description|Data collection program of Uppsala University}}

{{redirect|UCDP|the political party|United Christian Democratic Party}}

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The Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) is a data collection program on organized violence, based at Uppsala University in Sweden. The UCDP is a leading provider of data on organized violence and armed conflict, and it is the oldest ongoing data collection project for civil war, with a history of almost 40 years.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/about-ucdp/|title=Uppsala Conflict Data Program - About|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403211437/http://pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/about-ucdp|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}} UCDP data are systematically collected and have global coverage, comparability across cases and countries, and long time series. Data are updated annually and are publicly available, free of charge. Furthermore, preliminary data on events of organized violence in Africa is released on a monthly basis.

The UCDP's data is published annually in the Journal of Peace Research.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/publications/|title=Publications - Department of Peace and Conflict Research - Uppsala University, Sweden|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406020947/http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/publications|archive-date=2019-04-06|url-status=live}} The UCDP also makes its data publicly available through its interactive website, [https://ucdp.uu.se UCDP website].

Background

The UCDP began recording information on ongoing violent conflicts in the 1980s.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/about-ucdp/ucdp-background/|title=UCDP Background - Department of Peace and Conflict Research - Uppsala University, Sweden|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415023055/http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/about-ucdp/ucdp-background|archive-date=2019-04-15|url-status=live}} It became clear that more systematic and global data on armed conflicts was necessary for conducting research in the expanding academic discipline of peace and conflict studies.

Initially, the program collected data only on so-called "armed conflicts", defined as fighting exceeding 25 battle-related deaths between two actors of which at least one was a state. In later years, the data collection grew, and the program began collecting data on "non-state conflicts" (where neither actor is a state) and "one-sided violence" (where an organized actor attacks unarmed civilians).

One of the leading researchers associated with the UCDP is Professor Peter Wallensteen that founded and led the program since its initiation until 31 July 2015. After this Wallensteen continued to serve as a Senior Advisor for the UCDP.

Organization

The UCDP is based at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research of Uppsala University in Sweden. The program is led by Associate Professor Magnus Öberg, and employs approximately 10 to 15 research assistants and researchers. A number of scholars and Ph.D. candidates are also affiliated with the program. 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, as well as through participating in conferences and exhibitions such as the Swedish Forum for Human Rights.{{Cite web |url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/about-ucdp/|title=About UCDP |publisher=Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden |access-date=2019-04-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403211437/http://pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/about-ucdp |archive-date=2019-04-03 |url-status=live}}

Cooperation

UCDP is part of several important collaborations, for instance the extensive and well-established collaborations with the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) in Norway. Additionally, UCDP works closely with the Violence Early-Warning System (ViEWS){{Cite web|url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/views/|title=ViEWS - Department of Peace and Conflict Research - Uppsala University, Sweden|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403202404/http://pcr.uu.se/research/views|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}} project at Uppsala University, Sweden, as well as with Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem){{Cite web|url=https://www.v-dem.net/en/|title=Home {{!}} V-Dem|website=www.v-dem.net|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190410235628/https://www.v-dem.net/en/|archive-date=2019-04-10|url-status=live}} and the Quality of Government Institute (QoG), both based at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. UCDP was part of the European Network for Conflict Research (ENCoRE), a network funded by Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) of the European Union, which included all the leading research institutes in Europe that conduct quantitative and data driven research on armed conflict.{{Cite web|url=https://www.encore.ethz.ch/|title=Home|website=ENCoRe|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310181400/https://www.encore.ethz.ch/|archive-date=2018-03-10|url-status=live}} UCDP also had a long-standing cooperation with the Human Security Report Project (HSRP){{Cite web|url=https://www.sfu.ca/internationalstudies/about/hsrg.html|title=Human Security Research Group - School for International Studies - Simon Fraser University|website=www.sfu.ca|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181018165327/http://www.sfu.ca/internationalstudies/about/hsrg.html|archive-date=2018-10-18|url-status=live}} in Vancouver, Canada during the years that the project was running.

Use cases

Hundreds of scholars have used the UCDP's data for research.{{Cite journal|last=Dixon|first=Jeffrey|title=What Causes Civil Wars? Integrating Quantitative Research Findings|journal=International Studies Review|volume=2009|issue=11 |pages=707–735}} Aside from being widely used in research on peace and conflict at universities both in Sweden and abroad, UCDP data is also used in a number of other disciplines, including public health,{{Cite journal|last=Lozano |display-authors=etal |date=2012|title=Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010|journal=The Lancet|volume=380 |issue=9859 |pages=2095–2128 |doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(12)61728-0|pmid= 23245604|s2cid=1541253 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/2557786 |hdl=10292/13775 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal|last=Wagner |display-authors=etal |date=2018|title=Armed conflict and child mortality in Africa: a geospatial analysis|journal=The Lancet|volume=392 |issue=10150 |pages=857–865 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31437-5|pmid=30173907 |pmc=6338336 }}{{Cite journal|last=Balk |display-authors=etal |date=2005|title=Child hunger in the developing world: An analysis of environmental and social correlates|journal=Food Policy|volume=30 |issue=5–6 |pages=584–611 |doi=10.1016/j.foodpol.2005.10.007|bibcode=2005FoodP..30..584B }} business and economics,{{Cite journal|last=Besley & Persson|date=2011|title=The Logic of Political Violence|journal=The Quarterly Journal of Economics|volume=126 |issue=3 |pages=1411–1445|doi=10.1093/qje/qjr025}}{{Cite journal|last=Bazzi & Blattman|date=2014|title=Economic Shocks and Conflict: Evidence from Commodity Prices|journal=American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics|volume=6 |issue=4 |pages=1–38|doi=10.1257/mac.6.4.1}} migration and diasporas,{{Cite journal|last=Beine |display-authors=etal |date=2011|title=Diasporas|journal=Journal of Development Economics|volume=95 |issue=1 |pages=30–41 |doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2009.11.004}}{{Cite journal|last=Mattoo |display-authors=etal |date=2008|title=Brain waste? Educated immigrants in the US labor market|journal=Journal of Development Economics|volume=87 |issue=2 |pages=255–269 |doi=10.1016/j.jdeveco.2007.05.001|hdl=10986/8931 |s2cid=154232475 |url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2005/05/09/000012009_20050509133025/Rendered/PDF/wps3581.pdf |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal|last=Carling|first=Jorgen|date=2007|title=Unauthorized migration from Africa to Spain|journal=International Migration|volume=45 |issue=4 |pages=3–37|doi=10.1111/j.1468-2435.2007.00418.x}} as well as in studies that focus on agriculture, biodiversity and fisheries{{Cite journal|last=Gaynor |display-authors=etal |date=2016|title=War and wildlife: linking armed conflict to conservation|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment|volume=14 |issue=10 |pages=533–542 |doi=10.1002/fee.1433|doi-access=free |bibcode=2016FrEE...14..533G |hdl=11343/292187 |hdl-access=free }}{{Cite journal|last1=Belhabib|first1=Dyhia|author-link=Dyhia Belhabib|last2=Dridi|first2=Raouf|last3=Padilla|first3=Allan|last4=Ang|first4=Melanie|last5=Le Billon|first5=Philippe|date=2018|title=Impacts of anthropogenic and natural "extreme event" on global fisheries|journal=Fish and Fisheries|volume=19|issue=6|pages=1092–1109|doi=10.1111/faf.12314|bibcode=2018AqFF...19.1092B |s2cid=91503426 }} to name a few examples.

UCDP is prominently used by the United Nations, and serves as a main data source in high profile reports by organizations in the UN family including UN/WB, the World Bank, and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).United Nations; World Bank. 2018. Pathways for Peace: Inclusive Approaches to Preventing Violent Conflict. Washington, DC: World BankWorld Bank, 2011. World Development Report 2011: Conflict Security and Development. World Washington DCThe World Bank; FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO. 2017. The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017. Building resilience for peace and food security. Rome, FAO. UCDP data is an integral part of the World Bank’s World Development Indicators, where it is the only indicator for measuring armed conflict and its levels of intensity,{{Cite web|url=https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/523503-wdi-partners|title=WDI Partners – World Bank Data Help Desk|website=datahelpdesk.worldbank.org|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191206105904/https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/523503-wdi-partners|archive-date=2019-12-06|url-status=live}} and the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) program.{{Cite web|url=http://www.healthdata.org/gbd|title=Global Burden of Disease (GBD)|date=2014-03-29|website=Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409224533/http://www.healthdata.org/GBD|archive-date=2019-04-09|url-status=live}} The data is used by numerous Swedish and foreign government agencies and by many international NGOs, e.g. Save the Children International,Save the Children, 2019, ”Stop the War on Children: Protecting Children in 21st Century Conflict”, Germany, https://www.stopwaronchildren.org/report.pdf . Small Arms Survey{{Cite web|url=http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/|title=Small Arms Survey - Home|website=www.smallarmssurvey.org|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226234740/http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/|archive-date=2019-12-26|url-status=live}} and GapMinder.{{Cite web|url=https://www.gapminder.org/|title=Gapminder: Gapminder Foundation is fighting devastating ignorance with a fact-based worldview that everyone can understand.|language=en-US|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408142329/https://www.gapminder.org/|archive-date=2019-04-08|url-status=live}} UCDP data are included in the Global Peace Index{{Cite web|url=http://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/|title=Global Peace Index|last=Humanity|first=Vision of|website=Vision of Humanity|language=en-us|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190619080402/http://visionofhumanity.org/indexes/global-peace-index/|archive-date=2019-06-19|url-status=live}}http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2017/06/GPI-2017-Report.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171021204303/http://visionofhumanity.org/app/uploads/2017/06/GPI-2017-Report.pdf |date=2017-10-21 }}. of the Institute for Economics and Peace, and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation makes use of UCDP data for its index that assesses the quality of governance in African countries.{{Cite web|url=http://mo.ibrahim.foundation/|title=2019 Ibrahim Governance Weekend|website=Mo Ibrahim Foundation|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403050316/http://mo.ibrahim.foundation/|archive-date=2019-04-03|url-status=live}}

UCDP data is frequently used by journalists. Some of the largest media outlets in Sweden recurrently interview UCDP staff, and UCDP data is regularly published in, among others, Dagens Nyheter, Svenska Dagbladet, and the main Swedish radio broadcaster, Sveriges Radio. In addition, UCDP is often used and referred to in international media regarding armed conflicts and organized violence, for instance in the BBC, The Guardian, and The Washington Post, as well as in some of the major international news agencies, such as Agence France-Presse (AFP) and Reuters. In 2016, UCDP was listed by The Guardian as one of the top ten best sources of data for international development research, among such sources as the UNDP’s Human Development Index and the International Monetary Fund’s data site and reports.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/mar/16/the-top-10-sources-of-data-for-international-development-research|title=The top 10 sources of data for international development research|last=Holden|first=Joseph|date=16 March 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=9 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190328223657/https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/mar/16/the-top-10-sources-of-data-for-international-development-research|archive-date=28 March 2019|url-status=live}}

Publications

Since 1993, a list of all armed conflicts and a brief description of the major developments and trends in organized violence appears annually in the Journal of Peace Research.{{Cite web|url=https://www.prio.org/JPR/About/|title=About the Journal - Journal of Peace Research - PRIO|last=Oslo (PRIO)|first=Peace Pesearch Institute|website=www.prio.org|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170701200542/https://www.prio.org/JPR/About/|archive-date=2017-07-01|url-status=live}} UCDP data was published in the SIPRI Yearbook in 1988-2017,{{Cite web|url=https://www.sipri.org/yearbook|title=SIPRI Yearbook: Armaments, Disarmament and International Security {{!}} SIPRI|website=www.sipri.org|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225092639/http://www.sipri.org/yearbook|archive-date=2015-12-25|url-status=live}} and data on non-state conflicts appeared in the Human Security Report in 2004-2013.{{Cite web|url=http://www.css.ethz.ch/en/services/css-partners/partner.html/13296|title=Organizations and Resources Partners|website=www.css.ethz.ch|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413060132/http://www.css.ethz.ch/en/services/css-partners/partner.html/13296|archive-date=2018-04-13|url-status=live}} Data are also disseminated via the [https://ucdp.uu.se UCDP website].

Encyclopedia

UCDP operates and continuously updates its online database (UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia), an interactive database, that offers a web-based system for visualizing, handling and downloading data on armed conflicts and organized violence, free of charge.{{Cite web|url=https://ucdp.uu.se/|title=UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402031104/https://ucdp.uu.se/|archive-date=2019-04-02|url-status=live}} The website offers information on several aspects of armed conflict such as conflict dynamics, groups, actors, third party involvement, and conflict resolution and peace agreements. It is possible to find information about specific countries, conflicts and years of interest by using the intuitive world maps. A user can download ready-made datasets on organized violence and peacemaking from the [https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/ UCDP Dataset Download Center], as well as customized data selections of the user´s choice. There is also a public API where users can access UCDP data in a machine-readable format.{{Cite web|url=https://ucdp.uu.se/apidocs/|title=UCDP Download Center|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118094842/http://ucdp.uu.se/apidocs/|archive-date=2019-01-18|url-status=live}}

Organized violence definitions

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".{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/definitions/|title=Definitions - Department of Peace and Conflict Research - Uppsala University, Sweden|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402151126/http://pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/definitions/|archive-date=2019-04-02|url-status=live}}

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.{{Cite web|url=http://www.correlatesofwar.org/|title=About the Correlates of War Project — Correlates of War|website=www.correlatesofwar.org|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408040157/http://www.correlatesofwar.org/|archive-date=2019-04-08|url-status=live}} In UCDP, an armed conflict of this magnitude 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.

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,{{Cite web|url=https://ucdp.uu.se/#nonstate/5226|title=UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402031104/https://ucdp.uu.se/#nonstate/5226|archive-date=2019-04-02|url-status=live}} inter-ethnic group conflicts such as the Lou Nuer–Murle conflict,{{Cite web|url=https://ucdp.uu.se/#nonstate/5270|title=UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402031104/https://ucdp.uu.se/#nonstate/5270|archive-date=2019-04-02|url-status=live}} and inter-cartel violence in the Mexican Drug War.{{Cite web|url=https://ucdp.uu.se/#country/70|title=UCDP - Uppsala Conflict Data Program|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402031104/https://ucdp.uu.se/#country/70|archive-date=2019-04-02|url-status=live}}

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”. Examples include actions by the governments of Sudan, Myanmar, and Syria against civilians, as well as actions of non-state organizations such as Los Zetas, al-Qaeda, and the Lord's Resistance Army against civilians.

Datasets

= Collection =

UCDP uses both printed and electronic public sources for gathering information. All sources are manually read. The main source is the Factiva Database that is composed of over 30 000 newspapers, newswires, and other sources from around the globe.{{Cite web|url=https://proquest.libguides.com/factiva|title=LibGuides: Factiva: About|last=Devillard|first=Francoise|website=proquest.libguides.com|language=en|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190402164802/http://proquest.libguides.com/factiva|archive-date=2019-04-02|url-status=live}} As a minimum, for each country, UCDP uses at least one of the global newswires (AFP, Reuters, AP, Xinhua, or Agencia EFE) in addition to BBC Monitoring. Additional sources include newly published books, case studies, journals like Africa Research Bulletin, research reports, documents of international and multinational organizations, publications by NGOs such as Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, and documents of fighting parties. Sources are evaluated according to the context in which they are published, and reports are traced back to the primary source to establish reliability.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/methodology/|title=Methodology - Department of Peace and Conflict Research - Uppsala University, Sweden|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190406024750/http://www.pcr.uu.se/research/ucdp/methodology|archive-date=2019-04-06|url-status=live}}

UCDP staff members manually codes approximately 10 000-12 000 events on an annual basis.

= Georeferenced Event Dataset (GED) =

This is one of UCDP's core dataset and it is the most disaggregated one. The GED covers individual events of organized violence (the phenomena of lethal violence occurring at a given time and place). These events are sufficiently fine-grained to have several spatial and temporal locators, such as place name, administrative division, and geographic coordinates down to the level of individual villages, as well as start and end dates, disaggregated to single, individual days. The dataset is updated annually by UCDP.{{Cite web|url=https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/|title=UCDP Dataset Download Center|website=ucdp.uu.se|access-date=2019-04-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190404133316/https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/|archive-date=2019-04-04|url-status=live}}

= Armed conflict =

The UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset is a joint project between the UCDP and PRIO that records armed conflicts from 1946 that result in a minimum of 25 battle-related deaths and in which at least one actor is the government of a state. The dataset is updated annually by UCDP.

= Dyadic version =

The UCDP Dyadic Dataset is a dyad-year version of the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset. A dyad consists of two opposing actors in an armed conflict where at least one party is the government of a state. The dataset is updated annually by UCDP.

= Non-state conflict =

The UCDP Non-State Conflict Dataset contains information on communal and organized armed conflict where none of the parties is a government of a state. The dataset is updated annually by UCDP. A non-state armed conflict is defined by UCDP as “The use of armed force between two organized armed groups, neither of which is the government of a state, which results in at least 25 battle-related deaths in a year.”

= One-sided violence =

The UCDP One-sided Violence Dataset is an actor-year dataset with information on intentional attacks on civilians by governments and formally organized armed groups. The dataset is updated annually by UCDP. One-sided violence is defined by UCDP 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.”