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In the period 1946–2001, there were 225 armed conflicts and 34 of them were active in all of or part
of 2001. Armed conflict remains a serious problem in the post-Cold War period. For three decades,
the Correlates of War project has served as the main supplier of reliable data used in longitudinal studies
of external and internal armed conflict. The COW datasets on war use the relatively high threshold of
1,000 battle-deaths. The Uppsala dataset on armed conflict has a lower threshold, 25 annual battle-
deaths, but has so far been available for only the post-Cold War period. This dataset has now been
backdated to the end of World War II. This article presents a report on armed conflict based on this
backdate as well as another annual update. It presents the procedures for the backdating, as well as
trends over time and breakdowns for the type of conflict. It assesses the criteria for measuring armed
conflict and discusses some directions for future data collection in this area.
* This is a joint article from the Conflict Data Project in the acknowledge support from the European Union for the basic
Department of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala Uni- grant to the Uppsala Conference and from the World Bank,
versity and the Conditions of War and Peace Programme at Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Swedish Agency
the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO). for Civil Emergency Planning for additional financial
Work on this dataset was supported by grants to PRIO from support. We are grateful to Paul Collier, James Fearon, Scott
the Development Economics Research Group at the World Gates, Håvard Hegre, Birger Heldt, Andy Mack, Nicholas
Bank and the Research Council of Norway. The data collec- Sambanis, Meredith Reed Sarkees, Dan Smith, and other
tion for the post-Cold War period has largely been funded participants in these meetings for their comments, and to
by the Ford Foundation, the Swedish Agency for Civil Emer- Lars Wilhelmsen and Naima Mouhleb, both at PRIO, for
gency Planning, the Swedish International Development technical assistance and comments. All five authors share
Cooperation Agency (Sida), the Swedish Ministry of Foreign joint responsibility for the article. Within our collaborative
Affairs, and Uppsala University. We are grateful to several effort, Håvard Strand generated the candidate database and
colleagues in our respective institutions for comments and performed all the calculations, while Margareta Sollenberg
suggestions. The dataset also includes the geographical and Mikael Eriksson were responsible for checking whether
location data used in Buhaug & Gates (2002). Earlier or not the conflicts conformed to the Uppsala coding criteria
versions of the article were presented to the 42nd Annual and for identifying additional conflicts outside the candidate
Convention of the International Studies Association, list. Halvard Buhaug and Jan Ketil Rød, both of NTNU,
Chicago, IL, 20–24 February 2001, to the conference on calculated the location data. That work was supported by a
‘Civil Wars and Post-Conflict Transitions’ organized by the university grant for cross-disciplinary research at NTNU and
Center for Global Peace and Conflict Studies & World Bank by the Research Council of Norway. The complete list of all
at the University of California, Irvine, CA, 18–20 May the armed conflicts, the statistical database in monadic
2001, and to the conference on ‘Identifying Wars: System- and dyadic form, and the detailed list of definitions from
atic Conflict Research and Its Utility in Conflict Resolution the Uppsala Conflict Data project are available at
and Prevention’, Uppsala University, 8–9 June 2001. We www.prio.no/cwp/datasets.asp and at www.pcr.uu.se.
The State of Armed Conflict the adjustment for Guinea in 2000), and the
number of countries affected by armed con-
The end of the Cold War has not eliminated
flict also stayed the same. The number of
armed conflict. A total of 115 armed conflicts
conflicts remains at a much lower level than
have been recorded for the period
at the end of the Cold War and has been
1989–2001. In all or parts of 2001, 34 con-
fairly stable since 1995. In addition to the
flicts were active in 28 countries. This
four new conflicts already mentioned, one
included outbreaks of four new armed con-
conflict recommenced: Myanmar (Shan).
flicts: In Macedonia in January, the UCK
Four conflicts listed for 2000 are no longer
(Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombetare: National
active: Eritrea-Ethiopia, India (Manipur),
Liberation Army) launched a rebellion for
Sierra Leone, and Uzbekistan. Two conflicts
constitutional changes concerning the status
escalated (in Rwanda and in Nepal), while
and rights of the Albanian population. In the
two conflicts (in Mindanao in the Philip-
Central African Republic in May, a military
pines, and in the Democratic Republic of
faction attempted a coup subsequently put
Congo) de-escalated. As in 2000, very few
down by the government supported by troops
conflicts were interstate – in 2001, the only
from Libya. In Guinea, the RFDG (Rassem-
interstate conflict was the one between India
blement des forces démocratiques de Guinée:
and Pakistan over Kashmir. The regional
Rally of Democratic Forces of Guinea), which
pattern varied very little from earlier years:
had launched a rebellion in September 2000,
Most of the conflicts were in Africa (14) or
continued fighting in 2001 with the support
Asia (13), while the Middle East continued
of former RUF (Revolutionary United Front)
as the most conflict-prone region, measured
forces from Sierra Leone.1 In the USA, the 11
as the probability that a given country will be
September attacks on New York and Washing-
in conflict. The number of minor conflicts
ton, DC by Al-Qaeda (The Base) signalled a
was down one, and so was the number of
major change in the activities of this organiz-
wars (i.e. armed conflicts with more than
ation, which had previously attacked US
1,000 battle-related deaths in the year).
forces abroad in order to change US policy in
the Middle East. The 11 September events 2 The USA and the Multinational Coalition also entered
made it clear that the aims had widened to the internal armed conflict in Afghanistan supporting the
UIFSA (United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanis-
include the destruction of the US economic, tan) in order to overthrow the government of Afghanistan.
military, and political system. The attacks Although the conflict between Al-Qaeda and the USA was
were followed by a worldwide campaign by militarily inseparable from the internal conflict in
Afghanistan, the conflicts are treated as two separate con-
the USA and allied forces against Al-Qaeda, flicts, as the incompatibility between Al-Qaeda and the
with the military focus on the organization’s USA is unrelated to that of Afghanistan. The stated incom-
patibility by Al-Qaeda is unique compared to govern-
bases in Afghanistan.2 There is much dis- mental incompatibilities otherwise included in this dataset,
cussion about the changing nature of violent in that the aim is the destruction of the United States, in
conflict (Kaldor, 1999; Keen, 1998), but particular its military and economic system, rather than
introducing a specific alternative to the status quo. Still, we
violence persists. The study of patterns of have judged it to concern governmental power in the USA.
armed conflict is not just of historical interest, Al-Qaeda has several other stated incompatibilities with
governments in the Middle East (e.g. Israel, Saudi Arabia,
but also a matter of current concern. and Egypt), but they are not using armed force against
The number of current armed conflicts in those governments. It should also be noted that at the time
2001 was the same as the year before (with of the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanza-
nia in 1998, the stated goal of Al-Qaeda was to change US
1 Guinea was listed as an unclear case in 2000, but revision policies in the Middle East, which is not covered by the
showed that it should have been listed as a minor armed definition of armed conflict. Thus, although those attacks
conflict. This has now been rectified in the dataset and the meet the criterion of more than 25 battle-related deaths,
appendices. the 1998 events are not included in the dataset.
However, the number of intermediate con- more than 1,000 deaths in a single year.3
flicts (i.e. conflicts with a cumulative number Apart from the apparent anomaly of exclud-
of battle-related deaths exceeding 1,000) was ing such well-known conflicts from a dataset
up two. Altogether, the overall picture of on armed conflict, there is a statistical reason
global armed conflict remained very stable in why a lower threshold is useful. As multivari-
2001, although the emotional and political ate models of conflict become more fully
repercussions of 11 September will remain specified, there are simply ‘not enough wars’
important. for statistical analyses over shorter periods of
A complete list of all armed conflicts that time. Extending the analysis to a very long
were active in 2001 is found in Appendix 1. time period in order to get enough data raises
A list of unclear cases in 2001 is found in several problems: Are the theoretical expla-
Appendix 2. nations equally reasonable for the whole
period? Do variables like ‘degree of democ-
racy’ and ‘economic development’ mean the
Measures of Armed Conflict
same thing in 1825 as in 1985? Dividing the
For almost three decades, the Correlates of material into periods of more reasonable
War project (Singer & Small, 1972; Small & length, on the other hand, may produce
Singer, 1982; Singer & Small, 1994) has sup- insignificant results. Lowering the threshold
plied the leading dataset on armed conflict for inclusion will yield more conflicts and
with comparable data over a long time thus more flexibility.
period. Among the COW project’s many On the other hand, we do not want to
virtues is its emphasis on strict and trans- lower the threshold too much, and concen-
parent operational procedures. The COW trate on a clutter of small incidents unlikely
project requires a minimum of 1,000 battle- to have much impact on political or econ-
deaths for a conflict to qualify as a war. The omic life. The lower threshold adopted here
Uppsala dataset on armed conflict, with a – 25 deaths in a single year – is high enough
lower threshold of 25 battle casualties, has for the violence to represent a politically
been updated annually in this journal since significant event, although the precise local
1993, but so far has covered only the post- and international impact may vary.
Cold War period. This year, in addition to Apart from the usefulness of this dataset
the annual update, we are also able to present for statistical studies of conflict, data of high
a backdate for the entire post-World War II reliability and rigorous definitions should
period.
3 Small & Singer (1982: 55) set a threshold for interstate
The relatively high COW limit of 1,000
wars of 1,000 battle-deaths for the whole conflict. (A state
battle-deaths has some disadvantages. While is considered a participant in such a war only if it suffers a
it may seem intuitively reasonable to include minimum of 100 battle-deaths or commits a minimum of
1,000 armed personnel to active combat within the war
the Basque conflict, for instance, it has not theater.) For extra-systemic wars, the requirement was
accumulated enough deaths to qualify by 1,000 battle-deaths in a single year, and only the battle
even the most inclusive of the COW thresh- casualties of the system member were counted (p. 56). The
stricter criterion was used in order to avoid the inclusion of
olds, 1,000 battle-deaths for the entire con- colonial and imperial wars that dragged on for years with
flict. The Northern Ireland conflict, which little activity. The stricter criterion was also applied to civil
wars (p. 213). In the COW update for 1992, the threshold
broke out in 1969, exceeded 25 annual battle- was lowered for civil war (Singer & Small, 1994: 2), and
deaths every year during the period 1971–93, this coding rule is repeated in the most recent project
and again in 1998, has claimed more than update (Sarkees, 2000: 129). For extra-systemic war (now
called extra-state war), the stricter criterion is maintained
3,000 casualties altogether, but does not (Sarkees, 2000: 129). The Northern Ireland conflict is still
qualify for the stricter COW threshold of not included, however.
also be useful for descriptive purposes. Com- warring parties, and years of activity that had
pilations of the number of conflicts are fre- not been covered by any of the datasets. All
quently given wide media attention, as are countries were surveyed, and where there was
descriptions – frequently misleading – of reason to suspect the incidence of conflict,
data from individual conflicts.4 these countries were selected for in-depth
The aim of this article is to present a studies. This exercise yielded a set of conflicts
dataset based on the Uppsala criteria that were not reported in any of the datasets,
covering the entire post-World War II notably in the Soviet Union just after World
period. For the period 1989–2001, our War II.
dataset is the same (but for minor adjust- The conflicts that are included are as rig-
ments) as that reported in articles in Journal orously coded as the annual updates from the
of Peace Research in previous years. For the Uppsala group. There should be few false pos-
earlier years, we went through three stages.5 itives. On the other hand, we may have
First, we generated a ‘candidate database’, missed a few conflicts – but probably not too
drawing on information found in a dozen many. Two of the datasets that we used go
datasets from various research projects.6 well below what we are looking for in terms
These sources are listed in Gleditsch et al. of casualties: The Militarized Interstate
(2001: 5). This procedure generated a list of Dispute Dataset includes militarized conflicts
4,219 candidate events, several of which with no actual violence, and KOSIMO
overlapped. includes a number of nonviolent actions.
Next, we examined critically the long list This makes it less likely that we have missed
of candidate conflicts to see which of them major events that should have been included.
fulfill the Uppsala criteria. This was primarily In Gleditsch et al. (2001: 14ff ), we have com-
done by checking all potential cases against a pared the new dataset to some other leading
selection of available sources, notably datasets and argue that any discrepancies are
Keesing’s Contemporary Archives and reference generally due to differences in coding criteria
literature on various countries and regions. rather than omissions on our part. Many
Particular focus was given to disentangling candidate conflicts that look plausible at first
complex situations such as India and Burma, sight turn out upon close inspection not to
where conflicts have been lumped together in involve organized resistance, while others
most datasets including earlier versions of have an insufficient number of casualties.
our own. Our work continues, particularly for the
The third step was to identify conflicts, early years after World War II. Information
is increasingly scarce the further back in time
4 A good discussion of conflicting estimates of casualties in we go – as is the bias toward the Western
the 1991 Gulf War is found in Mueller (1995). hemisphere and the Great Powers – so there
5 The COW project initially followed a similar procedure.
In compiling the original list of international wars, the first is ample reason to give additional attention
step of Small & Singer (1972: 18–19) was to list in chrono- to the earlier years of the period covered here.
logical order all the deadly quarrels that had been identified No dataset of this kind will ever be ‘final’, but
as wars by Wright (1942/1965) and Richardson (1960),
and others and subsequently weed out the ones that failed we are reasonably confident that this dataset
to meet their own criteria.
6 In Gleditsch et al. (2001: Appendix 2), we discuss another
is the best one available for the period.
eight datasets that for various reasons were not included in
the candidate set. Several of them were used as sources of
reference when we identified additional conflicts not Criteria and Definitions
included in the candidate list. Including them in the candi-
date list would have made little if any difference to the final An armed conflict is defined by the Uppsala
list. Conflict Data Project as a contested
conflict as for incidence. In the present Broadly speaking, the pattern over time for
article, however, we look only at incidence. the total amount of conflict is similar to that
We correct for the rapidly increasing of the previous figure. But we now see that
number of independent countries. In the the overall probability of conflict rose only
COW project, whose definition of the inter- slowly for the last two decades of the Cold
national system we use, there are 66 coun- War. Moreover, the recent decline in armed
tries in 1946, 122 in 1964, 164 in 1982, and conflict after the end of the Cold War has
187 in 1994–2001.9 If we assume an equal a now brought the probability of a country
priori probability for all nations to get into being in conflict to a level corresponding to
conflict, a higher number of nations should the end of the 1950s and lower than at any
produce a higher overall frequency of conflict later time during the Cold War.
or at least more country-years of conflict. There are several peaks in Figure 2. The
Figure 2 shows the probability that any Korean War, which mobilized many partici-
particular country is involved in a conflict pants, stands out as a local peak in the early
that year. If a country is involved in several 1950s. We find a smaller peak during the
conflicts at the same time, only one country- Vietnam War at the end of the 1960s. More
year is counted. One result of this is that wars recently, the Gulf War (1991), the inter-
make up a higher share of the armed con- national part of the Kosovo conflict (1999),
flicts, since we count only the largest conflict and the Afghanistan War produce visible but
that the country is involved in that year. short-lived peaks. Thus, individual conflicts
9
can have a very visible impact on the overall
The last year in the COW dataset that we have used is
1994, and the same number of countries has been assumed pattern of conflict. Not coincidentally, all
to exist for the subsequent years. these conflicts involved coalitions led by the
Figure 2. Probability that a Country Is Involved in Armed Conflict, All Levels, All Types, 1946–2001;
Annual Figures and Long-Term Trend Line
0.4
Annual figures
Third polynomial
0.35
0.3
0.25
0.2
0.15
0.1
0.05
0
1948
1950
1952
1954
1956
1968
1974
2000
1946
1958
1960
1970
1976
1980
1988
1994
1962
1964
1978
1982
1984
1972
1990
1992
1996
1998
world’s leading military power. Most of the make a notable difference in military
countries involved in these coalitions did not strength. In a number of civil wars, other
participate very actively in the combat oper- states have also participated at much lower
ations, if at all. When we look at the proba- levels than the main participants. We have
bility that a particular country will be in experimented with a reduced dataset where
conflict in a given year rather than the such war participants were eliminated. In
number of conflicts, we see a clear long-term this way, we succeeded in eliminating the
decline through the Cold War period, local peaks, but otherwise the results were
although the decline is interrupted by the not markedly different. Since we were unable
single-year peaks for Kosovo and Afghanis- to find satisfactory criteria for the elimi-
tan. nation of actors (or lacked the necessary data,
As already noted, the country-year figures such as casualty figures by participant), we
are inflated by peripheral participants in the have put this exercise on hold.
large-coalition wars. For instance, in the Gulf In Figure 2, we have also imposed a third
War the two Nordic NATO countries are polynomial as a long-term trend line. An S-
counted as full participants. Denmark sent a shaped curve is apparent: first a fairly steep
frigate, which was kept well out of action, decline through the first years of the Cold
and Norway sent a supply ship to the Danish War and the de-Stalinization period, then a
warship. In all the coalition wars that long, slow increase during the greater part of
produce local peaks in Figure 2, a number of the Cold War, and finally another steep
Western countries participated in a way that decline after the turbulence in certain parts
signaled political solidarity even if it did not of Eastern Europe at the end of the Cold
War. The trend line ignores the sharp mon during the decolonization period, but
increase in armed conflict immediately after are now on their way out, which is not sur-
the end of World War II, the decline of prising since the number of dependent terri-
armed conflict in the late 1970s, and the tories has declined markedly. The number of
recent local peaks. In order to pick up these, interstate conflicts is somewhat erratic but
we would have to fit a much higher-order remains low during the entire period. Of
polynomial; a sixth polynomial, for instance, course, this category of war cannot be disre-
has basically the same S-shape.10 garded. Some of the interstate conflicts, such
Figure 2 reinforces the picture of a slight as the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the
upward trend in armed conflict during most Iran–Iraq War, have claimed more than a
of the Cold War, and strengthens the con- million battle casualties each. Interstate con-
clusion that the hazard of armed conflict was flicts have been a little less frequent in the
reduced when it ended. This is more con- post-Cold War period, and for two years
sistent with the optimistic assessments of (1994–95) did not occur at all.12
world politics that emphasize the spread of Moreover, there have not been any very
liberal factors (Gurr, 2000; Russett & Oneal, large interstate wars after 1988. John Mueller
2001; Weede, 1996) than with realist, struc- (1989, 2001) has argued that the institution
tural, or cultural interpretations that empha- of war is in decline and that only ‘the rem-
size rising anarchy (Mearsheimer, 1990; nants of war’, fought by thugs, now remain.
Kaplan, 1994; Huntington, 1996). But the Indeed, the World Bank’s major project on
world total number of separate conflicts is internal armed violence in the Third World
still high, twice as high as when the Cold War is titled ‘The Economics of Civil War,
began. Crime, and Violence’ (World Bank, 1999),
and the public debate after the 11 September
2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and
Conflicts by Type
the Pentagon has further stimulated the por-
In Figure 3, we present the armed conflicts trayal of international violence as crime.
by different types of international involve-
ment, following the distinctions made in the
Where Are the Conflicts?
COW project.11 We confirm the common
observation that internal conflict has been It is common to classify conflicts by region
the dominant form of conflict throughout (e.g. Wallensteen & Sollenberg, 2001: 632,
most of the post-World War II period, and Table III). Such tables, or world maps with
certainly since the late 1950s. There is a distinctive coloring for countries in conflict,
hump of civil conflict in the late 1960s, may be useful for understanding regional
probably related to the decolonization concerns and policies. But they may give a
process. A limited proportion of the internal misleading impression of the size and
conflicts are internationalized, although this location of the zones of peace and zones of
phenomenon is rarely recorded before the turmoil. For instance, the entire landmass of
mid-1950s. Extrastate conflicts were com- Russia can be depicted as being in conflict
because of the Chechnya War. A more realis-
10 However, the sixth polynomial picks up the increase in
armed conflict at the start of the period.
tic picture of the zones of conflict emerges
11 There is a very similar figure in Gurr, Marshall & Khosla when we plot the conflicts by their actual
(2000: 7). Their Figure 3 (2000: 9) looks at the fraction of
states affected by any armed conflict and by serious armed
conflict and shows a trend reversal (from a steady rise to a 12 But neither were there any interstate armed conflicts in
steady decline) at the end of the Cold War. 1955 or 1960 – in the middle of the Cold War.
In this figure, a conflict is coded by type for each year. Thus, a conflict can move from one type to another over time.
For instance, the Kosovo conflict is coded as internal in 1998 and internationalized internal in 1999. In the aggregate
figures for conflict for the entire period, such conflicts are coded at the ‘highest’ (i.e. most internationalized) level.
geographical location. A figure in the Gleditsch, 2002: 50, Figure 11). In this
previous issue of this journal (Buhaug & second map, the conflicts are plotted on a
Gates, 2002: 423, Figure 2) represents a first background of high, medium, or low GDP
attempt at such a classification for the post- per capita, and provide a simple visualization
World War II period. A very different picture of the strong bivariate relationship between
emerges, with considerable clustering of the poverty and internal armed conflict.
incidence of conflict. One zone of conflict is Studies of the diffusion of conflict would
found from Central America and the benefit from using such data, which clearly
Caribbean and into South America, another demonstrate the proximity of many conflict
from East Central Europe through the arenas. The figures just cited also exploit
Balkans and the Middle East and India to another useful feature of our database,
Indonesia. The third conflict zone is Africa, namely, that it allows several ongoing con-
and spans almost the entire continent. The flicts in a single country. Work is in progress
clustering is even more evident in a similar to build a flexible GIS application that will
map for just internal conflicts in the post- allow individual users to plot conflicts by
Cold War period, 1989–2000 (de Soysa & location.
to establish the thresholds with some degree Uppsala conflict list illustrates the problem:
of certainty. ‘The massacres carried out by Hutu militias
For internal conflict, the study of escala- and Hutu civilians in 1994 are often
tion is even more problematic. Except for the estimated as having resulted in
Uppsala conflict data with its limited tem- 500,000–800,000 deaths. The deaths are
poral coverage, none of the datasets that we not classified as battle-related and are not
have used to create the candidate dataset dis- included in this study’ (Wallensteen & Sol-
tinguish between intensity levels by year. lenberg, 1997: 352, note 22). Thus, Rwanda
Here, we follow the Uppsala criteria and in 1994 is listed as having only an inter-
code each conflict-year by level. The inter- mediate conflict (and in the three subsequent
mediate level (1,000 battle-deaths or more years, no conflict at all). Smith (1997) is
over the whole conflict) is not very useful in among those who classify Rwanda as having
this context, since it is an aggregate measure been at war throughout the period 1990–94.
which by definition cannot occur in the first The PIOOM data (Jongman, 2000) have
year of the conflict. Also, by definition, a their main emphasis on serious human rights
conflict cannot go to the lowest level once it violations and publish them jointly with
has reached the intermediate level. However, their list of conflicts. Rather than expanding
the present dataset makes it possible to dis- the conflict list, there is a need for a separate
tinguish between high and low conflict accounting of genocides and extremely
intensity for each year, which is an improve- serious human rights violations.
ment over earlier datasets.14 Unfortunately, A seventh point is that one might relax the
since the two thresholds that we use (25 requirement that at least one party to the
deaths for low, 1,000 for high) are themselves conflict is a government, as long as both of
annual aggregates, we cannot provide more them are organized parties. A case in point is
precise timing for the shifts in intensity level. where two communal groups fight while the
It might be possible to provide separate esti- government is turning a blind eye, is too
mates of the conflict intensity for each party. weak to do anything about it, or has gone out
The Gulf War in 1991 was certainly in the of business altogether. Sarkees & Singer
highest category, but only one of the partici- (1997: 10–11) announce a new category,
pants (Iraq) suffered more than 1,000 casu- Inter-communal war, as part of the COW
alties (in fact, most of them did not suffer expanded typology of war, and report that
25). such a dataset is currently in development.
Sixth, an enduring controversy surround- With our low threshold for annual casualties,
ing this type of data concerns the require- a similar expansion would be very labor-
ment that all parties to the conflict, in order intensive.
to be counted, must be organized – a govern- Finally, we have collected information on
ment or an organization. At least one of the the names of the organized opposition
parties must be a government. Furthermore, groups in internal conflicts, but we have no
the casualties must be battle-related. Similar further information about them. Character-
criteria govern the COW data collection. A istics such as their ideological orientation,
footnote to the Rwanda listing in the size, ethnic, religious, and linguistic back-
ground, geographical base, etc. are obviously
14 This would reduce the four levels (war, intermediate, of potential interest.
minor, no activity) to three, with intermediate conflicts Other researchers may have different
classified as minor. The information about the intermediate
level could be used to create a separate variable for the needs. We hope that they will contribute
cumulative severity of the conflict. new variables to the present dataset, so that
it may become a flexible and versatile instru- Jongman, Albert J., 2000. The World Conflict and
ment, widely used in the study of war and Human Rights Map 2000: Mapping Dimen-
peace. sions of Contemporary Conflicts and Human
Rights Violations. Leiden: Leiden University,
PIOOM Foundation.
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Armed Conflicts, 1999’, App. 1 in Armaments,
2/8/02
Europe
Macedonia Government UCK (Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare: National Liberation Army) 2001 Minor
Russia Territory (Chechnya) Republic of Chechnya (Ichkeria) 1994 Minor
1:30 pm
1995–96 War
Ni ls Pe tte r Gl edits ch et a l .
2001 War
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
Middle East
Page 629
Iran Government Mujahideen e Khalq 1979–80 Minor
1981–82 War
1986–88 Intermediate
1991–93 Intermediate
2000–01 Intermediate
Israel Territory (Palestine) Palestinian insurgents 1949–54 Minor
1955–64 Intermediate1
PLO (Munazamat Tahir Falastin: Palestine Liberation Organization) 1965–2001 Intermediate
groups, Non-PLO groups2
Hezb-i-Wahdat, Jumbish-i Milli-ye Islami, Jami’at-i-Islami; the latter three developing into UIFSA (United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan).
5 The Multinational Coalition, active in 2001, comprising troops from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom,
629
07gleditsch (ds)
630
j ou r n a l o f P E A C E R E S E A RC H
Location Incompatibility Opposition organization Year Intensity level
2/8/02
Burma/ Territory (Shan) SSA (Shan State Army), SSIA (Shan State Independence Army) 1960–63 Minor
Myanmar6 1964–70 War
SSNPLO (Shan State Nationalities People’s Liberation Organization), SSRA
1:30 pm
Shan State Revolutionary Army, MTA (Mong Tai Army), PSLO (Palung
State Liberation Organization) 1976–88 Intermediate
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
Page 630
SSA (Shan State Army), SURA (Shan United Revolutionary Army), SSNA 1997–99 Intermediate
(Shan State National Army) 2001 Intermediate
Territory (Karen) KNU (Karen National Union), KNDO (Karen National Defence Organization) 1948–49 War
1950–91 Intermediate7
1992 War
1993–95 Intermediate
1997–2001 Intermediate
India8 Government Naxalites/ CPI-M (Communist Party of India – Marxist)9 1967–72 Minor
Naxalites/ PWG (People’s War Group), MCC (Maoist Communist Centre) 1989–94 Minor
2/8/02
Territory (Kashmir) Kashmir insurgents10 1989 Minor
1990–93 War
1994–98 Intermediate
1:30 pm
1999–2001 War
Ni ls Pe tte r Gl edits ch et a l .
Territory (Assam) ABSU (All Bodo Students Union), BPAC (Bodo People’s Action Committee), 1989–90 Minor
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
Page 631
ULFA faction, BLTF (Bodo Liberation Tigers Force), NDFB (National
Democratic Front for Bodoland) 1992–2001 Intermediate
India – Territory (Kashmir) 1947–48 War
Pakistan 1964 Intermediate
1965 War
1971 War
1984 Intermediate
1987 Intermediate
1989–90 Intermediate
631
07gleditsch (ds)
632
j ou r n a l o f P E A C E R E S E A RC H
2/8/02
Location Incompatibility Opposition organization Year Intensity level
Nepal Government CPN-M (Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist)/UPF (United People’s Front) 1997–2000 Minor
2001 Intermediate11
1:30 pm
Philippines Government NPA (New People’s Army), RAM-SFP (Reform Movement of the Armed 1972–80 Minor
Forces – Soldiers of the Filipino People),12 Military faction 1981 Intermediate
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
1982–86 War
Page 632
1987–88 Intermediate
1989–92 War
1993–94 Intermediate
1999–2001 Intermediate
Territory (Mindanao) MNLF (Moro National Liberation Front) 1970–71 Minor
1972–77 Intermediate
1978 War
1979–80 Intermediate
1981 War
1982–88 Intermediate
Africa
2/8/02
Algeria Government FIS (Al-Jibhat al-Islamiyya li-l-Inqadh; Front islamique du salut: Islamic 1992 Minor
Salvation Front), Expiation and Sin, Exile and Redemption, 1993–2001 War
The Faithful of the Sermon, The Brigades of God, GIA (Groupe islamique
armé: Armed Islamic group), Al-Da’wa wa-l-Jihad (Appeal and Struggle)
1:30 pm
Ni ls Pe tte r Gl edits ch et a l .
Angola14 Government15 UNITA (União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola: National 1975–94 War
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
Union for the Total Independence of Angola), South Africa, FNLA 1995 Intermediate17
Page 633
(Frente Nacional da Libertação de Angola: National Front for the 1998–2001 War
Liberation of Angola), MPLA faction,16 Zaire
Burundi Government Ubumwé, Palipehutu (Parti pour la libération du peuple Hutu: Party for the 1990–92 Minor
Liberation of the Hutu People), CNDD (Conseil national pour la défense de 1995–96 Minor18
la démocratie: National Council for the Defense of Democracy), Frolina 1997 Intermediate19
(Front pour la libération nationale: National Liberation Front), CNDD-FDD 1998 War
(Conseil national pour la défense de la démocratie-Forces pour la défense de 1999 Intermediate20
la démocratie: National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for 2000–01 War
the Defense of Democracy)
633
07gleditsch (ds)
634
j ou r n a l o f P E A C E R E S E A RC H
2/8/02
Location Incompatibility Opposition organization Year Intensity level
Chad Government FARF (Forces armées pour la République fédérale: Armed Forces of the 1997–2001 Minor22
1:30 pm
Federal Republic), MDJT (Mouvement pour la démocratie et la
justice au Tchad: Movement for Democracy and Justice in Chad)
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
Democratic Government RCD (Rassemblement congolaises pour la démocratie: Congolese Democratic 1998–2000 War
Republic of Rally), RCD-ML (Rassemblement congolaises pour la démocratie-Mouvement 2001 Intermediate24
Page 634
Congo23 de libération: Congolese Democratic Rally-Liberation Movement), MLC
(Mouvement de libération congolais: Congolese Liberation Movement),
Rwanda, Uganda
Ethiopia Territory (Ogaden) ONLF (Ogaden National Liberation Front) 1996 Minor
1998–2001 Minor
Territory (Oromiya) OLF (Oromo Liberation Front) 1999–2001 Minor
Guinea Government RFDG (Rassemblement des forces démocratiques de Guinée: Rally of 2000–01 Minor25
Democratic Forces of Guinea)
2/8/02
Senegal Territory MFDC (Mouvement des forces démocratiques de Casamance: Movement of 1990 Minor
(Casamance) the Democratic Forces of the Casamance) 1992–93 Minor
1:30 pm
1995 Minor
1997–2001 Intermediate
Ni ls Pe tte r Gl edits ch et a l .
Downloaded from jpr.sagepub.com at SAGE Publications on December 7, 2012
Sudan Territory (Southern SPLM (Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement), Faction of SPLM, NDA 1983–92 War
Sudan)28 (National Democratic Alliance)29 1993–94 Intermediate30
Page 635
1995–2001 War
Uganda Government LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army), WNBF (West Nile Bank Front), ADF 1994–95 Minor
(Alliance of Democratic Forces) 1996–2001 Intermediate
Americas
Colombia Government FARC (Fuerzas armadas revolucionarias colombianas: Revolutionary Armed 1965–79 Minor32
Forces of Colombia), ELN (Ejército de liberación nacional: National 1980–88 Intermediate33
Liberation Army), EPL (Ejército popular de liberación: People’s Liberation 1989–90 War
Army), M-19 (Movimiento 19 de Abril: April 19 Movement), Faction of 1991 Intermediate
635
07gleditsch (ds) 2/8/02 1:30 pm Page 636
Appendix 2. Unclear Cases in 2001 the use of armed force, but the number of
Cases which have been completely rejected deaths cannot be verified); (2) the identity or
on the grounds that they definitely do not level of organization of a party‚ or (3) the
meet the criteria of armed conflict are not type of incompatibility. For a complete list of
included in the list below. For the conflicts unclear cases 1946–2000, see the website for
listed here, the available information suggests the data (www.prio.no/jpr/datasets.asp or
the possibility of the cases meeting the criteria www.pcr.uu.se). Unclear cases are also dis-
of armed conflicts, but there is insufficient cussed in appendices to the earlier annual
information concerning at least one of the articles in JPR by Wallensteen & Axell and
three components of the definition: (1) the Wallensteen & Sollenberg.
number of deaths (e.g. there are reports on