Background
The UCDP began recording information on ongoing violent conflicts in the 1970s. It became clear that more systematic and global data on armed conflicts was necessary for the ever-growing academic discipline of peace and conflict studies.
Initially the program collected data only on so-called “armed conflict”, defined as fighting exceeding 25 battle-related deaths between two actors of which at least one had to be a state. In later years the data gathering grew, and the program also began collecting data on “non-state conflicts” (where neither party was a state) and “one-sided violence” (where an organized group attacked unarmed civilians).
The UCDP’s data is published annually in such renowned publications as the SIPRI Yearbook and the Journal of Peace Research. The UCDP also makes its data publicly available through its website and in its annual publication, States in Armed Conflict.
Read more about this topic: Uppsala Conflict Data Program
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