Published on: 9 May 2023 | Last updated: 30 September 2024
ACLED records events as interactions between two (groups of) actors represented by the Actor1 and Actor2 columns. While the Actor1/2 columns specify the named groups involved in the event, the inter1 and inter2 columns categorize these actors into general classifications that allow broader view analysis of interactions between state forces, rebel groups, political militias, identity militias, rioters, protesters, civilians and external or other forces as whole.
The Interaction column combines the Inter1 and Inter2 values into standardized interactions, allowing easy analysis of all engagements between, for example, rebels and state forces, regardless of which of the two is recorded as the first or second actor. For example a rebel group engaging in an ambush of state forces on one occasion and state forces conducting airstrikes on rebel group positions in another, are all captured under the interaction ‘State forces – Rebel group’.
For more information see our Codebook sections on ‘Actors’ and ‘Interaction codes’.
