The Social Conflict in Africa Database (SCAD) is a resource for conducting research and analysis on various forms of social and political unrest in Africa. It includes over 6,000 social conflict events across Africa from 1990 to 2009, including riots, strikes, protests, coups, and communal violence. By tracking forms of conflict not covered in traditional datasets on civil and interstate war, SCAD gives policymakers and researchers new tools to analyze conflict patterns. The database includes information on the location, timing, and magnitude of social conflict events, as well as the actors, targets, issues of contention, and government response.
The SCAD research team compiled the data from Associated Press (AP) and Agence France Presse (AFP) news wires. Each event record contains information on start and end dates, the type of event, the actors and targets involved, the number of participants, the number of fatalities, use of government repression, event locations, and issues. While other data sources contain rich information about armed conflict in Africa, the goal of the SCAD project is to provide researchers, journalists, NGOs, and the policy community more detail about other forms of social conflict.
SCAD is part of the Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) program at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. The CCAPS program is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Minerva Initiative, a university-based, social science research program focused on areas of strategic importance to national security policy. The SCAD team is based at the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Austin.
The team has made every effort to provide a comprehensive resource on social conflict in Africa, based on AP and AFP news wires. However, no honest research project can claim to have accounted for each and every instance of unrest. While civil wars and insurgencies are recorded, based on information from the Uppsala University Armed Conflicts Database, SCAD does not provide a comprehensive account of armed conflict. Please see the methodology page and codebook for more information about data limitations and compatibility with other data sources.
Source : The University of Texas at Austin // The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law // Climate Change and African Political Stability Program via Human Security Gateway
SCAD is part of the Climate Change and African Political Stability (CCAPS) program at the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law at the University of Texas at Austin. The CCAPS program is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense’s Minerva Initiative, a university-based, social science research program focused on areas of strategic importance to national security policy. The SCAD team is based at the University of North Texas and the University of Texas at Austin.
The team has made every effort to provide a comprehensive resource on social conflict in Africa, based on AP and AFP news wires. However, no honest research project can claim to have accounted for each and every instance of unrest. While civil wars and insurgencies are recorded, based on information from the Uppsala University Armed Conflicts Database, SCAD does not provide a comprehensive account of armed conflict. Please see the methodology page and codebook for more information about data limitations and compatibility with other data sources.
Source : The University of Texas at Austin // The Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law // Climate Change and African Political Stability Program via Human Security Gateway
