Replication Data for: Issues and Actors in African Non-State Conflicts: A new Dataset

Armed non-state conflict without the direct involvement of the state government is a common phenomenon. Violence between armed gangs, rebel groups or communal militias is an important source of instability and has gained increasing scholarly attention. In this article, we introduce a data collection on conflict issues and key actor characteristics in armed non-state conflicts that provides new opportunities for investigating the causes, dynamics and consequences of this form of organized violence. The data builds on and extends the UCDP Non-State Conflict dataset by introducing additional information on what the actors in the conflict are fighting over, alongside actor characteristics. It covers Africa 1989-2011. The dataset distinguishes between two main categories of issues; territory or authority, in addition to a residual category of other issues. Furthermore, we specify sub-issues within these categories, such as agricultural land/water as sub-issue for territory and religious issues for other issues. As actor characteristics, the dataset notes whether warring parties received military support by external actors and whether religion and the mode of livelihood were salient in the mobilization of the armed group. The article presents coding processes, key features of the dataset and point to avenues for new research based on these data.