When working with quantitative data, it is often necessary to merge data from multiple datasets. For example, one might want to combine conflict data at the country-level from ACLED with data on health, climate change, gender, etc. from another source.[1] While the two datasets share a common identifying variable (e.g., country name), if these cells…
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The growth of online media and easily accessible information has enabled conflict data projects to provide a granular and detailed picture of conflict dynamics with geographically and temporally discrete events (Gleditsch et al., 2013). However, reliance on secondary sources means that datasets may be vulnerable to the biases of those sources. Previous studies on the use of media…
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A unit of relative risk is necessary in order to be able to draw comparisons on the risk of violence or death against civilians from political conflict. A micromort is such a measure, and is often used to determine the ‘riskiness’ of various activities within decision analysis (Howard, 1980). A micromort is the microprobability of…
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Unidentified armed groups (UAGs) constitute a large share of violent actors in the ACLED dataset; approximately 15% of organized, armed conflict carried out by violent actors (e.g., government forces, rebels, political militias, communal militias, external forces) are at the hands of UAGs. There are many reasons why a group may be ‘unidentified’: the first is…
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ACLED Asia has released the most up-to-date version of the Asia data, covering the time period of January to March 2015. The data covers eleven states including India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and Myanmar. The data for January to March is now available here.
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ACLED’s release of data for Asia in addition to ACLED’s African data will allow for new comparisons to be made in regard to the conflict patterns within and across countries on both continents. While the ACLED Asia team continues to collect backdated information across South and Southeast Asian states, the newly available real-time data can…
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Boko Haram is one of the most high-profile conflict actors in West Africa and the group’s campaign continues to be one of the most destructive insurgencies on the continent. Boko Haram has become a transnational actor and is currently fighting the armies of four sovereign nations, turning a national emergency into a regional crisis. Below are a list of…
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Children in conflict zones are subject to high rates of violence (killing, or severely harming), forcible inscription and negative developmental challenges. Violence against children is often used by armed groups to instill terror in populations, and to reaffirm brutality and garner notoriety. Aggregated data from a search for conflict events (specifically, violence against civilians) within…
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Libya was the fifth most active country in the ACLED dataset in February 2015 with an average of 4 fatalities incurred for every conflict event (see Figure 1). The recent wave of attacks by Islamic State groups has prompted widespread discussion of the role of Islamist groups such as the Shura Council of Islamic Youth,…
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Violence against children is a conscious strategy employed by armed groups within conflict contexts. When children are targeted or killed, it is often in an attempt to instill terror in populations, or to reaffirm brutality and gain (global) notoriety, given that the targeting of children is meant to send a message to (adult) adversaries and/or…
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