What are they fighting for? Completion, integration, and publication of data on conflict issues
What do rebels fight for when they go to war? Surprisingly, our knowledge regarding this question is scarce, even though all civil wars involve contested issues: the specific demands, grievances, or desires that warring parties go to war over, and despite issues being one of the cornerstones of the theoretical concept of conflict. Understanding what conflict issues are fought over promises to open up new avenues towards understanding conflict resolution. The purpose of this infrastructure project is to complete an existing data collection on the issues that parties go to war over to provide a sought-after public good for the scientific community.
Current data on conflict issues covers only the Americas and sub-Saharan Africa. Global data is necessary for scientific, representative, and cross-case analyses of how conflict issues affect the origins, dynamics, and resolution of conflict. Additionally, resources are required to integrate conflict issue data into the Uppsala Conflict Data Program’s (UCDP) infrastructure. Such integration will ensure that data become available both through the UCDP’s line-up of datasets and via the online Conflict Encyclopedia.
The purpose of the project is twofold: (1) to produce global conflict issues data, and (2) to release, integrate, and disseminate global data on conflict issues, providing the research community with a missing piece of data for understanding the origins, dynamics, and resolution of civil wars.
Final report
Purpose and work flow of infrastructure
The purpose of the proposed and now completed project was twofold: (1) to produce global conflict issues data , and (2) to release, integrate, and effectively disseminate a global dataset on conflict issues, thereby providing the research community with a missing piece of data for understanding the origins, dynamics, and resolution of civil wars.
The project was motivated by a simple yet so far almost unaddressed question in empirical conflict research: What do rebels fight for when they go to war? Surprisingly, our knowledge regarding this question is scarce, even though all civil wars involve contested issues: the specific demands, grievances, or desires that warring parties go to war over, and despite issues being one of the cornerstones of the theoretical concept of conflict. In one way this lack of attention was understandable: a dearth of data. Existing datasets treated the issues parties fight over only in passing. The world’s most used dataset on civil wars, from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), classifies issues as being over ‘government’ or ‘territory’; obfuscating the many different varieties of, for instance, territorial issues (autonomy, self-rule,federalism etc.).
This project – building on a previous grant from the Marcus and Marianne Wallenberg foundation – sought to remedy this shortcoming by completing global data on the conflict issues stated by all rebel groups in the 1989-2017 period (the first grant could cover data collection for only sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas) and disseminating these data in various forms.
Dissemination was to come in three forms. First, the creation of two datasets on global conflict issues to be disseminated via a data presentation article in a scientific journal. Second, through the storage and dissemination of these datasets from the UCDP’s well-established online platform (ensuring strong and wide impact on the research community). And third, the integration of conflict issues into the UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia. This entails that our data are also accessible through the encyclopedia, where users and the public can browse more qualitative information on conflicts, rebels, and their issues in the form of ‘issue narratives’.
To complete the project the principal investigators hired and trained a number of research assistants to carry out the coding of data. The coding proceeded according to criteria set up using our first research grant and proceeded fully according to plan.
Project results
The project has been completed successfully, with all of the goals being fulfilled on time: in part due to the project not experiencing any large-scale technical or methodological problems.
First, Brosché and Sundberg published a data presentation piece (Open Access) in the Journal of Conflict Resolution: What They are Fighting For – Introducing the UCDP Conflict Issues Dataset (2023, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231218633). This journal article ensures wide dissemination of the data to the research community through a high-impact journal. Second, two datasets (two different formats for different types of statistical usage) were integrated into and published on the UCDP’s website (UCDP Conflict Issues Dataset version 23.1: https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/index.html#cid). Publication on this website ensures not only broad dissemination but also a stable platform for longevity and updates to the dataset. Third, issue narratives were written for the approximately 200 rebel groups in the dataset and published in the UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia (https://ucdp.uu.se; see for instance https://ucdp.uu.se/additionalinfo/11980/4#conflictissues as an example text). The narratives have been integrated both into the back-end of UCDP systems (ensuring that edits can be made and additional narratives added) as well as being featured in the front-end for users to read.
In sum the project has finalized all deliverables specified in the grant application.
Usage of the infrastructure
As the data were launched on UCDP websites only in December 2023 we are yet to see the infrastructure/data result in any scientific work.
Maintenance and longevity of infrastructure
The integration of the datasets and the issue narratives into UCDP systems also ensures the longevity of the infrastructure. The UCDP as a flagship project of Uppsala University will be a reliable long-term repository for the data collected. Agreements made with the UCDP ensure that the data will remain on their platforms and integrated into the Conflict Encyclopedia. Updates to the data and general maintenance will be conducted using other funding by the principal investigators (Sundberg and Brosché), for instance in the form of remedying errors identified by users. All errors are logged and will be audited in an annual update.
Open Science
All deliverables created by the project are fully Open Access. The data presentation article has been made Open Access, the datasets are free to download, and the issue narratives are accessible to anyone via the Conflict Encyclopedia.
International collaboration
The project has had no notable international collaboration beyond being presented in different forums:
- Presenting the data presentation paper and the project at the Data for Peace Conference organized by the Center on International Cooperation, New York University 18 October, 2023.
- Invited talk on the project for The Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, US State Department, 23 February 2022.
- Presenting the data presentation paper and the project at the Bridging Insights project, Harvard Kennedy School, 3 March 2022.
-
Publications
The project has produced a peer-reviewed publication in the form of the data presentation article: Brosché, Johan and Ralph Sundberg (2023; Online First), What They are Fighting For – Introducing the UCDP Conflict Issues Dataset, Journal of Conflict Resolution (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231218633).
A related article was also published in Security Studies using a beta version of the data: Brosché, Johan, Desirée Nilsson, and Ralph Sundberg (2023) “Conceptualizing Civil War Complexity” Security Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09636412.2023.2178964 .
Links
UCDP website: ucdp.uu.se
Conflict Issues Dataset(s): https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/index.html#cid
Issue Narrative example: https://ucdp.uu.se/additionalinfo/665/4#conflictissues
The purpose of the proposed and now completed project was twofold: (1) to produce global conflict issues data , and (2) to release, integrate, and effectively disseminate a global dataset on conflict issues, thereby providing the research community with a missing piece of data for understanding the origins, dynamics, and resolution of civil wars.
The project was motivated by a simple yet so far almost unaddressed question in empirical conflict research: What do rebels fight for when they go to war? Surprisingly, our knowledge regarding this question is scarce, even though all civil wars involve contested issues: the specific demands, grievances, or desires that warring parties go to war over, and despite issues being one of the cornerstones of the theoretical concept of conflict. In one way this lack of attention was understandable: a dearth of data. Existing datasets treated the issues parties fight over only in passing. The world’s most used dataset on civil wars, from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP), classifies issues as being over ‘government’ or ‘territory’; obfuscating the many different varieties of, for instance, territorial issues (autonomy, self-rule,federalism etc.).
This project – building on a previous grant from the Marcus and Marianne Wallenberg foundation – sought to remedy this shortcoming by completing global data on the conflict issues stated by all rebel groups in the 1989-2017 period (the first grant could cover data collection for only sub-Saharan Africa and the Americas) and disseminating these data in various forms.
Dissemination was to come in three forms. First, the creation of two datasets on global conflict issues to be disseminated via a data presentation article in a scientific journal. Second, through the storage and dissemination of these datasets from the UCDP’s well-established online platform (ensuring strong and wide impact on the research community). And third, the integration of conflict issues into the UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia. This entails that our data are also accessible through the encyclopedia, where users and the public can browse more qualitative information on conflicts, rebels, and their issues in the form of ‘issue narratives’.
To complete the project the principal investigators hired and trained a number of research assistants to carry out the coding of data. The coding proceeded according to criteria set up using our first research grant and proceeded fully according to plan.
Project results
The project has been completed successfully, with all of the goals being fulfilled on time: in part due to the project not experiencing any large-scale technical or methodological problems.
First, Brosché and Sundberg published a data presentation piece (Open Access) in the Journal of Conflict Resolution: What They are Fighting For – Introducing the UCDP Conflict Issues Dataset (2023, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231218633). This journal article ensures wide dissemination of the data to the research community through a high-impact journal. Second, two datasets (two different formats for different types of statistical usage) were integrated into and published on the UCDP’s website (UCDP Conflict Issues Dataset version 23.1: https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/index.html#cid). Publication on this website ensures not only broad dissemination but also a stable platform for longevity and updates to the dataset. Third, issue narratives were written for the approximately 200 rebel groups in the dataset and published in the UCDP Conflict Encyclopedia (https://ucdp.uu.se; see for instance https://ucdp.uu.se/additionalinfo/11980/4#conflictissues as an example text). The narratives have been integrated both into the back-end of UCDP systems (ensuring that edits can be made and additional narratives added) as well as being featured in the front-end for users to read.
In sum the project has finalized all deliverables specified in the grant application.
Usage of the infrastructure
As the data were launched on UCDP websites only in December 2023 we are yet to see the infrastructure/data result in any scientific work.
Maintenance and longevity of infrastructure
The integration of the datasets and the issue narratives into UCDP systems also ensures the longevity of the infrastructure. The UCDP as a flagship project of Uppsala University will be a reliable long-term repository for the data collected. Agreements made with the UCDP ensure that the data will remain on their platforms and integrated into the Conflict Encyclopedia. Updates to the data and general maintenance will be conducted using other funding by the principal investigators (Sundberg and Brosché), for instance in the form of remedying errors identified by users. All errors are logged and will be audited in an annual update.
Open Science
All deliverables created by the project are fully Open Access. The data presentation article has been made Open Access, the datasets are free to download, and the issue narratives are accessible to anyone via the Conflict Encyclopedia.
International collaboration
The project has had no notable international collaboration beyond being presented in different forums:
- Presenting the data presentation paper and the project at the Data for Peace Conference organized by the Center on International Cooperation, New York University 18 October, 2023.
- Invited talk on the project for The Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, US State Department, 23 February 2022.
- Presenting the data presentation paper and the project at the Bridging Insights project, Harvard Kennedy School, 3 March 2022.
-
Publications
The project has produced a peer-reviewed publication in the form of the data presentation article: Brosché, Johan and Ralph Sundberg (2023; Online First), What They are Fighting For – Introducing the UCDP Conflict Issues Dataset, Journal of Conflict Resolution (https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00220027231218633).
A related article was also published in Security Studies using a beta version of the data: Brosché, Johan, Desirée Nilsson, and Ralph Sundberg (2023) “Conceptualizing Civil War Complexity” Security Studies, DOI: 10.1080/09636412.2023.2178964 .
Links
UCDP website: ucdp.uu.se
Conflict Issues Dataset(s): https://ucdp.uu.se/downloads/index.html#cid
Issue Narrative example: https://ucdp.uu.se/additionalinfo/665/4#conflictissues