Introducing the UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset

Abstract

This article presents the UCDP Georeferenced Event Dataset (UCDP GED). The UCDP GED is an event dataset that disaggregates three types of organized violence (state-based conflict, non-state conflict, and one-sided violence) both spatially and temporally. Each event -defined as an instance of organized violence with at least one fatalitycomes with date, geographical location, and identifiers that allow the dataset to be linked to and merged with other UCDP datasets. The first version of the dataset covers events of fatal violence on the African continent between 1989 and 2010. This article, firstly, introduces the rationale for the new dataset, and explains the basic coding procedures as well as the quality controls. Secondly, we discuss some of the data's potential weaknesses in representing the universe of organized violence, as well as some potential biases induced by the operationalizations. Thirdly, we provide an example of how the data can be used, by illustrating the association between cities and organized violence, taking population density into account. The UCDP GED is a useful resource for conflict analyses below the state and country-year levels, and can provide us with new insights into the geographical determinants and temporal sequencing of warfare and violence.

The Long-Run Effects of the Scramble for Africa

“…Data.-To shed further light on the link between ethnic partitioning and conflict we used data from the Uppsala Conflict Data Program Georeferenced Events Dataset (UCDP GED) that covers the period 1989-2010 (Sundberg, Lindgren, and Padskocimaite 2010;Sundberg and Melander 2013). The UCDP focuses on deadly incidents associated with civil wars, as identified by the UCDP-PRIO Armed Conflict Database.…”

Does Security Imply Safety? On the (Lack of) Correlation Between Different Aspects of Security

“…It categorizes its events as battle (a violent interaction between two or more organized armed groups), violence against civilians and riots/protests, among other smaller categories. UCDP followed in 2011 with its own event-based dataset, including events in each of its three categories of violence: armed conflict, non-state violence and one-sided violence (see Sundberg and Melander 2013). It should be noted that Africa is the only continent comprehensively covered by both datasets.…”

Communication Technology and Reports on Political Violence

“…Conflict Event Data (UCDP-GED) (Sundberg and Melander 2013) and projects such as ACLED (Raleigh et al 2010) and Social Conflict in Africa Database (SCAD) (Salehyan et al 2012) primarily provide data from this continent.…”