I. Patterns of organized violence, 2007–16

Chapter:

2. Armed conflict and peace processes

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2017

Author(s):

Ian Davis

This section provides an overview of the past 10 years of active armed conflicts with a focus on 2016.¹ In this section, armed conflict is defined as a contested incompatibility between two parties, at least one of which is the government of a state, that concerns government, territory or both, and where the use of armed force by the parties results in at least 25 battle-related deaths in a calendar year. An armed conflict that results in 1000 battle-related deaths in a year is classified as a ‘war’ in that year; other armed conflicts are classified as ‘minor armed conflicts’. This definition extends from low-intensity conflicts that are active for just one or a few years—such as the 1989 conflict in the Comoros when the Presidential Guard took power in a coup d’état—to high-intensity, protracted conflicts that go on for a long period, such as the conflict over governmental power in Colombia that has pitted successive governments against a number of leftist rebel groups since 1964 and is still ongoing, albeit at a low level of activity in the most recent years (see section II). For the purpose of this section, a conflict is classified as ‘active’ when fighting causes 25 or more battle-related deaths in a year. Cases that fall below this threshold for any reason, such as a de-escalation of hostilities or the signing of a ceasefire, are not listed as active in the Uppsala Conflict Data Program (UCDP) data.²