Filling the gap – providing a comprehensive source on conflict actor characteristics.
Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) at Uppsala university is the world's main provider of data on organized violence, and has become a unique source of information about conflict in all countries of the world. Research findings over the last few years have pointed to a critical gap in the data available to the research community: detailed information on actors involved in organized violence. This gap needs to be filled to be able to open up new avenues for research within the field. Thus, UCDP intends to create a comprehensive collection of systematic descriptions of all actors involved in any type of organized violence in the time period 1975-2015, including information on founding, leadership, ideology, ethnic ties, and links to other actors. While hundreds of such actor descriptions are already available in the UCDP Encyclopedia, comparable information is missing on some 400 actors that have solely been involved in state-based conflicts. This collection of actor narratives will have a key role in the new, RJ-funded, UCDP visualization and extraction platform, which was launched in April 2016. Adding these actor descriptions, the new platform will offer the first and only complete universe of narratives about actors in organized violence to the research community, giving researchers the opportunity to construct more detailed datasets on actors and their characteristics, as well as enrichen the research community's understanding of conflict settings and their dynamics.
Final report
‘VEM STRIDER I VÄPNADE KONFLIKTER? EN UNIK KARTLÄGGNING AV KONFLIKTAKTÖRER (IN16-0690:1)
PROJECT AIMS AND DEVELOPMENT
The aim of this project was to provide the research community with detailed information on actors in organized violence. More specifically, the aim was to create a comprehensive collection of systematic descriptions of all actors involved in any type of organized violence in the period 1975-2015. The descriptions were to cover e.g. founding, leadership, ideology, ethnic ties, and links to other actors. UCDP had some of this information at the project onset, but information on some 400 actors were missing. Upon completion, the UCDP would provide a complete universe of systematically compiled narratives on armed actors that would allow for studying conflict settings and dynamics in a way that was previously not possible. The narratives would add a rich textual component to the larger UCDP Encyclopedia and associated datasets. The aim has been followed consistently throughout the course of the grant period and the project has now successfully been finalized. Minor changes to the plan were made (e.g. the time plan) and some gaps remain (see further below).
PROJECT RESULTS
The project has been finalized in line with its original aims. By the end of the project, i.e. by the end of 2019, we had published a total of 421 actor descriptions. Of these, 382 descriptions cover the 1975-2015 period outlined in the application. These have been continuously released on our website (http://ucdp.uu.se/). An additional 25 descriptions are in the editing phase and will soon be published. 39 descriptions for 2016-2018 were also produced with another dozen in the editing phase (not funded by this grant). The application also stipulated a separate technical component which was to program a mobile and tablet friendly version of the UCDP website. This was finalized in the beginning of the project.
As a result of in-depth study when writing the descriptions, various conflicts were recoded resulting in changes in the relevant actor list. For example, in Libya we identified 10 actors which had previously not been in our data. This highlights a critically important added value of the project in that it has served as an important tool to verify and improve the quality of UCDP data overall. In-depth research of the actors and their respective relations, and the use of new sources, has facilitated relevant revisions. Such quality increases ultimately improves also the quality of research employing UCDP data. With the aid of the template for actor descriptions set up in the project, we were also able to produce some 50 actor descriptions for the period 2016-2018. These were made within our other resources (e.g. our grant from Uppsala University), but the work would not have been possible without the template developed within this project. As new actors become active in the future, actor descriptions will be added in accordance with this template.
It should be noted that actor descriptions for groups active in Syria have not yet been written. At the time of the project onset, we had not yet coded the Syrian conflicts on the same detailed level as all our other data. We thus applied for and received additional grants for coding the violence in Syria (IN17-0514:1 and IN 19-0777:1) which are still ongoing projects. The relevant list of actors in Syria is dependent on the outcome of these projects and actor descriptions for Syrian actors will therefore be produced once coding has been finalized. This work will be covered by our core funding from Uppsala University. In addition to the Syrian actors, there are also just over 20 actors where detailed information on actors have been particularly scarce and descriptions have thus not yet been produced (e.g. various non-state groups in Sudan). These actor descriptions will be produced if and when information becomes available (work to be covered by UU core funding).
The project output is an integral part of a larger data infrastructure, partly funded by previous RJ grants. The larger infrastructure reduces limitations for which research questions can be asked by providing a variety of data and systematic textual information on organized violence. The actor descriptions add a major piece of information on the dynamics of actors to available UCDP data. It allows for asking research questions on the level where armed conflict and organized violence unfolds, i.e. the actor level. With information on actors’ characteristics, origins and relations to other groups, users will be able to trace all actors (state as well as non-state) across time and space to study the dynamic evolution of groups in conflict and how this affects the dynamics of conflict and violence. This could not be deduced from the existing UCDP datasets and no other source delivers this information comprehensively. The systematic nature of the descriptions ensures comparable information for all groups, yet provides a richer context than can currently be coded in a quantitative format. The descriptions thus hold an encyclopaedic value and accessibility also for non-quantitative users.
INFRASTRUCTURE USAGE AND RESEARCH
We anticipate wide usage – in line with the usage of the UCDP infrastructure as a whole so far – but primarily now once all descriptions have become available. We are aware of some external projects currently using the UCDP actor descriptions to construct datasets. An example is the Foundations of Rebel Group Emergence (FORGE) dataset, which traces the social and organizational origins of rebel groups (see Maves Braithwaite, Jessica and Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, 2020. “When Organizations Rebel: Introducing the Foundations of Rebel Group Emergence (FORGE) Dataset”, International Studies Quarterly, 64(1): 183–193). In regard to our own plans for research developments, we plan to extract information from the actor narratives to create datasets on selected actor characteristics, e.g. organizational linkages. We also plan to create a temporal actor dataset with information on when actors are created and when – as well as how – they cease to exist.
TECHNICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, AND DEVIATIONS FROM PLAN
There have been no specific problems in the project execution. The project has overall followed the original plan, but some changes were made in relation to the plan in the application. First, the time plan was changed from a two-year plan to a three-year plan. Instead of finalizing by end-2018, we finalized the project by end-2019 (within the boundaries of the contract with RJ as it allows for spending resources through 2019). We postponed the full project start-up until mid-2017 for reasons of efficiency. The UCDP staff situation was strained at the time and we used limited resources during the spring of 2017 to prepare the project and to develop the template for writing the actor descriptions. With a mid-year start we could recruit two able research assistants from our own Master graduates who could swiftly get into work in June 2017. The changed time plan also resulted in a slightly shifted weight of resources such that the project leader was active during a longer period (see further under the Economic Report Comment) leading to increased salary costs for the project leader summing to 15% more than the budget. Finally, it should be noted that this project was originally granted to Erik Melander (same department), but that the project leadership was shifted to Margareta Sollenberg early in the project period (formally granted by RJ in December 2017).
INTEGRATION INTO ORGANIZATION AND MAINTENANCE
The actor descriptions produced in this project are fully integrated into the UCDP interface (the UCDP Encyclopedia), and this, in turn, is fully integrated in the organization. All current and future work is taking place within this technical environment which was partly created by an earlier RJ infrastructure grant (IN14-0995:1). The technical maintenance of the interface will be done by IT staff, funded by a permanent yearly grant from Uppsala University, recently augmented by an additional five-year grant. We estimate that we will be able to maintain and make basic upgrades of the infrastructure, including updating the actor descriptions as well as adding new ones, within available resources in the coming 10-year period. The larger infrastructure, in which the actor descriptions are integral, is the core of UCDPs interaction with the research community, our main user base. We envision that this role will only deepen with time. The interface will require not only technical maintenance, but also constant improvement; our current financial situation allows for both also in the future.
INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESSIBILITY AND OPEN ACCESS
All UCDP information, including the actor descriptions, is freely available from our website: ucdp.uu.se. No registration is required; usage and download is free of charge. In sum, we operate with a maximum degree of accessibility as there are no restrictions of any kind for users.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
The project has not resulted in any specific international collaborations.
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS BASED ON INFRASTRUCTURE
Since the project has just recently finished, we have not yet produced research publications directly based on the infrastructure. The content of the actor descriptions have nevertheless been used in UCDP publications, e.g. Pettersson, T, S. Högbladh, & M. Öberg, 2019. ”Organized Violence, 1989-2018 and Peace Agreements”, Journal of Peace Research 56(4): 589-603. The new information has also been incorporated in all new versions of UCDP datasets (for UCDP datasets, see ucdp.uu.se). Although we have no current plans for articles directly focused on the actor descriptions, we plan to extract information to create additional datasets on selected actor characteristics, e.g. organizational linkages.
WEBSITE LINK
http://ucdp.uu.se
PROJECT AIMS AND DEVELOPMENT
The aim of this project was to provide the research community with detailed information on actors in organized violence. More specifically, the aim was to create a comprehensive collection of systematic descriptions of all actors involved in any type of organized violence in the period 1975-2015. The descriptions were to cover e.g. founding, leadership, ideology, ethnic ties, and links to other actors. UCDP had some of this information at the project onset, but information on some 400 actors were missing. Upon completion, the UCDP would provide a complete universe of systematically compiled narratives on armed actors that would allow for studying conflict settings and dynamics in a way that was previously not possible. The narratives would add a rich textual component to the larger UCDP Encyclopedia and associated datasets. The aim has been followed consistently throughout the course of the grant period and the project has now successfully been finalized. Minor changes to the plan were made (e.g. the time plan) and some gaps remain (see further below).
PROJECT RESULTS
The project has been finalized in line with its original aims. By the end of the project, i.e. by the end of 2019, we had published a total of 421 actor descriptions. Of these, 382 descriptions cover the 1975-2015 period outlined in the application. These have been continuously released on our website (http://ucdp.uu.se/). An additional 25 descriptions are in the editing phase and will soon be published. 39 descriptions for 2016-2018 were also produced with another dozen in the editing phase (not funded by this grant). The application also stipulated a separate technical component which was to program a mobile and tablet friendly version of the UCDP website. This was finalized in the beginning of the project.
As a result of in-depth study when writing the descriptions, various conflicts were recoded resulting in changes in the relevant actor list. For example, in Libya we identified 10 actors which had previously not been in our data. This highlights a critically important added value of the project in that it has served as an important tool to verify and improve the quality of UCDP data overall. In-depth research of the actors and their respective relations, and the use of new sources, has facilitated relevant revisions. Such quality increases ultimately improves also the quality of research employing UCDP data. With the aid of the template for actor descriptions set up in the project, we were also able to produce some 50 actor descriptions for the period 2016-2018. These were made within our other resources (e.g. our grant from Uppsala University), but the work would not have been possible without the template developed within this project. As new actors become active in the future, actor descriptions will be added in accordance with this template.
It should be noted that actor descriptions for groups active in Syria have not yet been written. At the time of the project onset, we had not yet coded the Syrian conflicts on the same detailed level as all our other data. We thus applied for and received additional grants for coding the violence in Syria (IN17-0514:1 and IN 19-0777:1) which are still ongoing projects. The relevant list of actors in Syria is dependent on the outcome of these projects and actor descriptions for Syrian actors will therefore be produced once coding has been finalized. This work will be covered by our core funding from Uppsala University. In addition to the Syrian actors, there are also just over 20 actors where detailed information on actors have been particularly scarce and descriptions have thus not yet been produced (e.g. various non-state groups in Sudan). These actor descriptions will be produced if and when information becomes available (work to be covered by UU core funding).
The project output is an integral part of a larger data infrastructure, partly funded by previous RJ grants. The larger infrastructure reduces limitations for which research questions can be asked by providing a variety of data and systematic textual information on organized violence. The actor descriptions add a major piece of information on the dynamics of actors to available UCDP data. It allows for asking research questions on the level where armed conflict and organized violence unfolds, i.e. the actor level. With information on actors’ characteristics, origins and relations to other groups, users will be able to trace all actors (state as well as non-state) across time and space to study the dynamic evolution of groups in conflict and how this affects the dynamics of conflict and violence. This could not be deduced from the existing UCDP datasets and no other source delivers this information comprehensively. The systematic nature of the descriptions ensures comparable information for all groups, yet provides a richer context than can currently be coded in a quantitative format. The descriptions thus hold an encyclopaedic value and accessibility also for non-quantitative users.
INFRASTRUCTURE USAGE AND RESEARCH
We anticipate wide usage – in line with the usage of the UCDP infrastructure as a whole so far – but primarily now once all descriptions have become available. We are aware of some external projects currently using the UCDP actor descriptions to construct datasets. An example is the Foundations of Rebel Group Emergence (FORGE) dataset, which traces the social and organizational origins of rebel groups (see Maves Braithwaite, Jessica and Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, 2020. “When Organizations Rebel: Introducing the Foundations of Rebel Group Emergence (FORGE) Dataset”, International Studies Quarterly, 64(1): 183–193). In regard to our own plans for research developments, we plan to extract information from the actor narratives to create datasets on selected actor characteristics, e.g. organizational linkages. We also plan to create a temporal actor dataset with information on when actors are created and when – as well as how – they cease to exist.
TECHNICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL PROBLEMS, AND DEVIATIONS FROM PLAN
There have been no specific problems in the project execution. The project has overall followed the original plan, but some changes were made in relation to the plan in the application. First, the time plan was changed from a two-year plan to a three-year plan. Instead of finalizing by end-2018, we finalized the project by end-2019 (within the boundaries of the contract with RJ as it allows for spending resources through 2019). We postponed the full project start-up until mid-2017 for reasons of efficiency. The UCDP staff situation was strained at the time and we used limited resources during the spring of 2017 to prepare the project and to develop the template for writing the actor descriptions. With a mid-year start we could recruit two able research assistants from our own Master graduates who could swiftly get into work in June 2017. The changed time plan also resulted in a slightly shifted weight of resources such that the project leader was active during a longer period (see further under the Economic Report Comment) leading to increased salary costs for the project leader summing to 15% more than the budget. Finally, it should be noted that this project was originally granted to Erik Melander (same department), but that the project leadership was shifted to Margareta Sollenberg early in the project period (formally granted by RJ in December 2017).
INTEGRATION INTO ORGANIZATION AND MAINTENANCE
The actor descriptions produced in this project are fully integrated into the UCDP interface (the UCDP Encyclopedia), and this, in turn, is fully integrated in the organization. All current and future work is taking place within this technical environment which was partly created by an earlier RJ infrastructure grant (IN14-0995:1). The technical maintenance of the interface will be done by IT staff, funded by a permanent yearly grant from Uppsala University, recently augmented by an additional five-year grant. We estimate that we will be able to maintain and make basic upgrades of the infrastructure, including updating the actor descriptions as well as adding new ones, within available resources in the coming 10-year period. The larger infrastructure, in which the actor descriptions are integral, is the core of UCDPs interaction with the research community, our main user base. We envision that this role will only deepen with time. The interface will require not only technical maintenance, but also constant improvement; our current financial situation allows for both also in the future.
INFRASTRUCTURE ACCESSIBILITY AND OPEN ACCESS
All UCDP information, including the actor descriptions, is freely available from our website: ucdp.uu.se. No registration is required; usage and download is free of charge. In sum, we operate with a maximum degree of accessibility as there are no restrictions of any kind for users.
INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATION
The project has not resulted in any specific international collaborations.
RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS BASED ON INFRASTRUCTURE
Since the project has just recently finished, we have not yet produced research publications directly based on the infrastructure. The content of the actor descriptions have nevertheless been used in UCDP publications, e.g. Pettersson, T, S. Högbladh, & M. Öberg, 2019. ”Organized Violence, 1989-2018 and Peace Agreements”, Journal of Peace Research 56(4): 589-603. The new information has also been incorporated in all new versions of UCDP datasets (for UCDP datasets, see ucdp.uu.se). Although we have no current plans for articles directly focused on the actor descriptions, we plan to extract information to create additional datasets on selected actor characteristics, e.g. organizational linkages.
WEBSITE LINK
http://ucdp.uu.se