Introducing the UCDP Peacemakers at Risk dataset, sub-Saharan Africa, 1989–2009
| Author | Sara Lindberg Bromley |
| Published date | 01 January 2018 |
| Date | 01 January 2018 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/0022343317735882 |
| Subject Matter | Special Data Feature |
Special Data Feature
Introducing the UCDP Peacemakers at Risk
dataset, sub-Saharan Africa, 1989–2009
Sara Lindberg Bromley
Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University
Abstract
This article introduces new event data on violence against peacekeepers deployed to conflict-affected countries in
sub-Saharan Africa between 1989 and 2009. While the practice of peacekeeping is often described as fraught with
risk, a shortage of data has left scholars poorly equipped to study this important phenomenon. The Peacemakers at
Risk (PAR) dataset records reported incidences of violence resulting in direct peacekeeping personnel fatalities,
injuries and kidnappings. Information on the timing, location, outcomes and actors implicated is provided for each
recorded event, including information on the nationalities of violence-affected peacekeepers. The dataset also charts
reports of fatal violence by peacekeepers. This enables the study of peacekeepers’ use of force and provides a new lens
for examining wider questions related to peacekeeping effects and conflict dynamics. Peace operations deployed by
the UN as well as other peacekeeping actors are included, allowing for a rich dataset that reflects today’s diverse
peacekeeping landscape. The PAR dataset makes possible the evaluation of reigning assumptions regarding peace-
keeping intervention and risk, and allows scholars to pose research questions regarding the causes, characteristics and
consequences of peacekeeper violence, within and across interventions. This article introduces the criteria and
procedures guiding the data collection and presents the data. The article also highlights key patterns emerging from
the dataset and identifies a number of potential applications and avenues for future research.
Keywords
event data, peacekeeping, sub-Saharan Africa, violence
Introduction
Violence against third-party actors such as peacekeepers
and aid workers is often noted as increasingly common
(e.g. UN, 2015: 90). In the face of attacks, third parties
sometimes restrict their activities or withdraw altogether.
In Rwanda the brutal killing in 1994 of ten Belgian
peacekeepers led to the withdrawal of the Belgian con-
tingent of the United Nations Assistance Mission for
Rwanda, leaving only a limited peacekeeping force that
proved powerless to curtail the unfolding genocide. In
August 2013 Me
´decins Sans Frontie
`res withdrew its
operations from Somalia, a decision motivated by the
high levels of security risks posed to its staff (MSF,
2013). Clearly, violence against third-party actors can
entail a range of serious consequences for directly impli-
cated individuals and organizations, as well as for
conflict-affected populations, by adversely affecting the
provision of security and humanitarian relief. This article
introduces the Peacemakers at Risk (PAR) dataset, which
will facilitate study of the causes, characteristics and con-
sequences of a form of violence prevalent within and
across intervention settings.
Scholars have only recently begun to directly address
this important dimension of international interventions.
Violence targeting aid workers has received growing aca-
demic attention (e.g. Fast, 2014; Hoelscher, Miklian &
Nygård, 2017). For violence involving peacekeepers,
inquiry is sparser. While studies on peacekeeping often
note the problem such violence poses in contexts of
intervention, the violence peacekeepers experience has
until recently mainly featured indirectly in the academic
literature; for instance, as an indicator of peacekeeping
failure (see Bratt, 1997). A set of recent systematic
Corresponding author:
sara.lindberg_bromley@pcr.uu.se
Journal of Peace Research
2018, Vol. 55(1) 122–131
ªThe Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0022343317735882
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