Intra-state Armed Conflict

How to use this data visualization? Click on the nodes for more information. For more detailed information on risk and protective factors, explore the full tool here.

Intra-state armed conflict is a contested incompatibility between a state and non-state armed group inside the state’s territory that causes at least 25 battle-related deaths per year. Intra-state armed conflict can be:

• fought over control of government and/or territory;
• have foreign involvement (i.e., internationalized intra-state wars); and
• be multi-party (i.e., involving a state and more than one non-state armed group).

The tool on risk and protective factors provides information on three related aspects of intra-state armed conflict:

• The onset of intra-state armed conflict.
• Spillover into other countries.
• Recruitment into non-state armed groups.

More specifically, the tool examines the factors that make onset, spillover and recruitment related to intra-state armed conflict more likely (risk factors). The database also tool the factors that make onset, spillover and recruitment related to intra-state armed conflict less likely (protective factors).

The risk and protective factors identified are taken from a review of the academic and policy literature. This literature covers a range of disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience, economics, technology, environment, security and rule of law. Some factors are relevant to individuals, while others apply to families, countries and transnational dynamics. Where possible, the risk and protective factors in the tool are also disaggregated by sex and age.

Practitioners and policymakers can search the tool in many different ways, according to their specific purposes. For e.g., practitioners can search for protective factors related to the onset of intra-state armed conflict. They can also search for specific keywords in relation to onset/spillover/recruitment. For e.g., how is unemployment related to the risk of recruitment into non-state armed groups?

In some cases, the tool may point to the need for additional research on certain topics. The search results may also point to broad patterns that should be confirmed by more context specific analysis. International practitioners and policymakers could therefore use the tool in a participatory way, as a basis for discussion with national stakeholders