An innovative research project directed by Dr Clionadh Raleigh, lecturer in the Department of Political Science, has been published in the prestigious international Journal of Peace Research.
Dr Raleigh, a political geographer, directed the Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset (ACLED) project, which tracks local conflict events in 50 countries. The database codes the actions of rebels, militias and governments, specifying the exact location and date of battle events, transfers of military control, headquarter establishment, civilian violence and rioting.
Raleigh started the project in 2005 for her PhD dissertation. “It took quite a while, since it was such an innovative project,” she notes.
30 coders were hired and the current dataset now covers recorded violence in Africa from 1997 to 2010. The researchers examined incidents of violence on a local level and discovered many new types of conflict.
The findings were then submitted to the Journal of Peace Research . The report can be found online and in the September 2010 issue of the journal.
Una Kelly
