Update Alert No. 7
10 August, 2011

Major data releases

The UCDP released six new versions of the annually updated datasets in late July and early August. The updated versions of the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset and the UCDP Dyadic Dataset were released on 29 July. The latest versions of the UCDP Actor Dataset, the UCDP Battle-related Deaths Dataset, the UCDP Non-State Conflict Dataset and the UCDP One-sided Violence Dataset were released on 2 August.

UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset v.4-2011

The latest version of the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset contains the updates for the armed conflicts waged in 2010, as well as a number of revisions for the years 1946-2009 (these can be viewed in the version history file). As is done annually the dataset is presented in the Journal of Peace Research, complete with a description of armed conflicts in 2010.

UCDP Dyadic Dataset v.1-2011

In conjunction with the release of the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset the UCDP has also released a completely dyadic version of the dataset. The UCDP Dyadic Dataset lists all dyads active in armed conflicts from 1946-2010 and is thus more disaggregated than the UCDP/PRIO version of the data.

UCDP Actor Dataset v2.1-2011

The latest version of the UCDP Actor Dataset contains descriptive information and IDs of all the actors that have ever been included in the UCDP's datasets on organized violence. Amongst other things the dataset contains IDs for all actors, making it possible to easily track one actor across different categories of violence. The dataset also features information on rebel group splits, merges and alliances.

UCDP Battle-related Deaths Dataset v5-2011

The UCDP Battle-related Deaths Dataset; a conflict-year and dyad-year dataset, contains information on the number of battle-related deaths in the conflicts from 1989-2010 that appear in the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset.

UCDP Non-State Conflict Dataset v2.3-2011

The latest UCDP Non-State Conflict Dataset has a temporal scope covering 1989-2010. This dataset replaces earlier versions of the UCDP Non-State Conflict Dataset and contains information on non-state conflicts, i.e. conflicts between two armed groups, neither of which is the government of a state. The dataset gives information on fatalities caused by these conflicts on a yearly basis, as well as on start- and end dates and locations.

UCDP One-sided Violence Dataset v1.3-2011

The latest version of UCDP One-sided Violence Dataset; an actor-year dataset, contains information on intentional attacks on civilians by governments and formally organized armed groups.

All datasets can be downloaded from the UCDP website´s Datasets section.

UCDP Database

UCDP Database updated for 2010

The 2010 update of UCDP’s non-state conflict and one-sided violence categories in the UCDP Database has now been completed. Updates regarding the conflicts, battle-related deaths and actor descriptions are now available for perusal, complete with variable- and annual-level search possibilities.

Publications

The UCDP’s latest data on armed conflicts in 2010 published in Journal of Peace Research

The UCDP article “Armed Conflicts, 1946-2010” by Lotta Themnér (formerly Harbom) and Peter Wallensteen was published in the July issue of Journal of Peace Research (JPR).

This year’s article, “Armed Conflicts, 1946-2010”, presents the latest developments on armed conflicts during 2010 by drawing on data from the most recent version of the UCDP/PRIO Armed Conflict Dataset (v.4-2011) as well as from the Uppsala Conflict Database. In 2010, UCDP recorded 30 active armed conflicts, which is a substantial reduction from the 36 active conflicts recorded in 2009 and the lowest number of active conflicts since 2003. It is also noted in the article that the number of wars (1,000 or more battle-related deaths) declined from six in 2009 to four in 2010. However, only two peace agreements were concluded during the year, which is decidedly below the annual average for the post-Cold War period.

UCDP journal article on armed conflicts in 2009 the most downloaded in Journal of Peace Research

The UCDP article “Armed Conflicts, 1946-2009” by Lotta Themnér (formerly Harbom) and Peter Wallensteen was the most downloaded article in the Journal of Peace Research (JPR) in 2010 (of all articles published in 2009 and 2010). UCDP data on armed conflicts have been published yearly in the JPR since 1993. A free version of the last year’s article “Armed Conflicts, 1946-2009” can be accessed by clicking on the link below.

Harbom, Lotta and Peter Wallensteen, 2010, "Armed Conflicts, 1946-2009", Journal of Peace Research, 47(4)

UCDP data published in the SIPRI Yearbook 2011

UCDP contributed to the SIPRI Yearbook 2011, launched in June, by reporting on trends in major armed conflicts, as has been done annually since 1987. In 2010, 15 major armed conflicts were active, which is a decline from the year 2009, which saw 17 major armed conflicts.

New book covers history of UCDP

In Peter Wallensteen's new book Peace Research: Theory and Practice (Routledge 2011) the emergence of peace research as well as the Uppsala Conflict Data Program is described. The book also includes a review of causes of war studies, economic sanctions and academic diplomacy.

Conferences

European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR)

The UCDP will present two papers at the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) annual conference, this year held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on 25-27 August. Stina Högbladh will present the paper “Peace agreements, justice and durable peace”(co-authored with Peter Wallensteen and Erik Melander), on 26 August, panel 445. Also, Christian Altpeter and Marcus Nilsson will present their paper “From actors of violence to makers of peace” on 25 August, panel 13.

American Political Science Association’s (APSA)

The UCDP will also participate in the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) annual meeting and exhibition, this year held in Seattle, USA, on 1-4 September. The UCDP has been awarded the Lijphart/Przeworski/Verba Data Set Award for 2011. The award is given by the Comparative Politics Section of the APSA and rewards a publicly available dataset that has made an important contribution to the field of comparative politics. The award ceremony will take place on 3 September. Furthermore, the UCDP will display its database and datasets in the exhibit hall, booth 339.

Coming updates

UCDP Database iPhone application 2010 update

The UCDP Database iPhone application was launched in cooperation with Uppsala University last summer. An update regarding conflicts, battle-related deaths, third party activities, negotiations and peace agreements for 2010 will be released in late August 2011.

Ongoing projects

UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (UCDP GED)

The first version of the UCDP GED, which contains a subset including the entirety of sub-Saharan Africa, is scheduled for release in 2011. Additional subsets will be released throughout the year as they are completed.