The Philippines has historically grappled with a high – and lethal – level of violence targeting local officials. Such violence is heavily concentrated in rural areas, particularly the BARMM, and especially during election periods. However, while the Philippines is home to many conflicts, a large percentage of the violence targeting local officials occurs outside of such conflicts and can be tied to electoral competition, the proliferation of political dynasties, and the domination of ‘strong families’ who find recourse in violence to secure their interests.
Details
ACLED records violence targeting local officials across Mexico – with events in all 32 states. However, some of the highest levels of violence targeting administrators were recorded in Oaxaca and Chiapas states, where ACLED records have relatively lower levels of events likely related to gang violence – challenging the narrative that political violence in Mexico is a function of organized crime alone. As political competition and power dynamics contribute to widespread violence, particularly around election cycles, the next general elections scheduled for June 2024 are likely to exacerbate tensions.
Details
In the year since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, the number of incidents targeting local officials has spiked – a trend that was particularly pronounced during the first months of the war. Local authorities became targets of the Russian occupation forces due to their role as officials in the Ukrainian administration and at the same time, local authorities considered to be linked to the Russian occupation became the target of groups loyal to the Ukrainian government. As the war wages on, this type of violence shows few signs of abating.
Details
Between 2020 and 2022, violence targeting local officials occurred in 16 out of 27 EU countries. However, three-quarters of all events reported across the region were recorded in Italy, where local officials in the south of the country face the most risk. Approximately 85% of all recorded events in the EU have been committed anonymously – and though largely non-lethal, the persistence of these threats across the EU, and the rise in countries like France and Greece, emphasize that local authorities are very often bearing the brunt of political discontent.
Details
While contestation for power takes place in South Africa at all levels of government – 80% of violence targeting government representatives between 2018 and 2022 was directed against local officials, and the KwaZulu-Natal province has been the epicenter. Amidst bleak economic conditions, the persistence of corruption, and the deterioration of support for the ruling ANC, violence targeting local officials is on the rise – and may continue to escalate.
Details
ACLED has launched a special project to systematically identify incidents of political violence targeting local officials. The project’s inaugural report provides an overview of the new data with in-depth analysis of six case studies that illustrate the scale and variation in attacks on local government.
Details
A special virtual event and panel discussion on 28 June 2023 introducing ACLED's new project tracking violence targeting local officials and key findings from six case studies: Mexico, Ukraine, the European Union, Brazil, South Africa, and the Philippines.
Details
Analysis of ACLED data for May on political violence and protest trends across the Asia-Pacific, highlighting potential early warning signs for closer monitoring.
Details
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
We use cookies to optimize our website and our service.
Functional
Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
