Introducing ACLED: An Armed Conflict Location and Event Dataset
2010/09/01 by Clionadh Raleigh, Andrew Linke, Andrew M. Linke +2 · 1,737 citations
Engineering · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Armed conflict #Battle #Civil Conflict #Computer science #Computer security #Conflict analysis #Conflict resolution #Criminology #Engineering #Event (particle physics) #Geography #Law #Operations research #Peacebuilding and International Security #Political Conflict and Governance #Political science #Psychology #Spanish Civil War #State (computer science) #Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Political Violence
paper · open access · doi:10.1177/0022343310378914
published in Journal of Peace Research 47(5), 651-660 (SAGE Publishing)
openalex publication_date 2010/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/06
Abstract
Abstract This article presents ACLED, an Armed Conflict Location and Events Dataset. ACLED codes the actions of rebels, governments, and militias within unstable states, specifying the exact location and date of battle events, transfers of military control, headquarter establishment, civilian violence, and rioting. In the current version, the dataset covers 50 unstable countries from 1997 through 2010. ACLED’s disaggregation of civil war and transnational violent events allow for research on local level factors and the dynamics of civil and communal conflict. Findings from subnational conflict research challenges conclusions from larger national-level studies. In a brief descriptive analysis, the authors find that, on average, conflict covers 15% of a state’s territory, but almost half of a state can be directly affected by internal wars.
Citations
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