Violent Political Protest: Introducing a New Uppsala Conflict Data Program Data Set on Organized Violence, 1989-2019
Author | Isak Svensson,Susanne Schaftenaar,Marie Allansson |
DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/00220027221109791 |
Published date | 01 October 2022 |
Date | 01 October 2022 |
Subject Matter | Data Set Features |
Data Set Feature
Journal of Conflict Resolution
2022, Vol. 66(9) 1703–1730
© The Author(s) 2022
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DOI: 10.1177/00220027221109791
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Violent Political Protest:
Introducing a New Uppsala
Conflict Data Program Data
Set on Organized Violence,
1989-2019
Isak Svensson
1
, Susanne Schaftenaar
1
, and Marie Allansson
1
Abstract
This article presents the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) “Violent Political
Protest”(VPP) data set: a new –standalone- category of organized violence, which
complements, and is compatible with, UCDP’s three categories of organized violence:
one-sided violence, non-state, and state-based conflict. It consists of violent political
protests, with at least 25 casualties during a year, in which informally organized civi lians
challenge states over governmental or territorial issues. We describe the data col-
lection process, and demonstrate the data’s use with empirical analyses. Violent po-
litical protest is present globally, but most prevalent in the Middle East and Africa, and
increasingly common over time. Violent political protest frequently co-occurs with
state-based conflicts, but rarely due to conflict escalation. We explore if this is due to
shared contexts, and find that gender inequality increases the likelihood of VPP onset,
similar to state-based conflicts. Finally, we identify avenues for future research, in-
cluding using VPP to assist in a more precise and complete analysis of organized
violence.
1
Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala university, Uppsala, Sweden
*Equal authorship applies.
Corresponding Author:
Susanne Schaftenaar, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala university, Gamla Torget 3, Box
514, Uppsala 751 20, Sweden.
Email: susanne.schaftenaar@pcr.uu.se
Keywords
violent protest, conflict data, riot, political violence, armed conflict, nonviolent, UCDP,
gender
Introduction
Syria, 2011
In early 2011, popular uprisings, soon referred to as the “Arab Spring”, spread to
several countries, including Syria. Initially, the protests against the Government of
Syria were relatively minor. Following events in Daara, where three boys were killed by
the police and where protesters subsequently were met with heavy-handed repression
through lethal force, the protests escalated into nation-wide, large-scale demonstra-
tions. The demands of the civilians included political change incorporating demands for
a new government. Many of the protesters were unarmed, but there were also clashes
between protesters and security forces. The ensuing civil war started when army
officers disserted from the Syrian army and joined the opposition during the summer of
2011. By that time, however, political violence had already been ongoing for several
months through asymmetrical clashes between protesters and Syrian armed forces.
Palestinian Intifada, 1989
Throughout 1989, Palestinians took to the streets, many of them young, demonstrating
against the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. As part of a large-scale campaign,
driven primarily by Palestinians in the occupied territories who were disappointed with
the inefficiencies of resistance strategies employed by the exiled Palestinian leadership,
a wide range of civil resistance tactics were employed, including demonstrations. The
demonstrations were commonly small-scale, but recurrent, and often consisted of a
group of youths throwing stones at Israeli soldiers. The soldiers responded by shooting
back, which resulted in more than 25 deaths. These types of events have been a re-
curring phenomenon and have claimed many lives, especially during the 1990s.
Egypt, 2013
In the beginning of 2013, following growing discontent with President Morsi and the
developments in the country since the Arab Spring uprising 2 years earlier, anti-
government demonstrations occurred in several cities. Several of the demonstrations
became violent with clashes between protesters and security forces. A few months later,
in July, President Morsi was ousted by the military, sparking a new wave of dem-
onstrations. Pro-Morsi protesters challenged the coup and demanded that Morsi should
be re-instated. The military responded with highly repressive measures, resulting in
hundreds of people being killed in violent clashes.
1704 Journal of Conflict Resolution 66(9)
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