[COW] Intra-State War Data (v. 4.1)

By /

“The Correlates of War (COW) Project has utilized a classification of wars that is based upon the status of territorial entities, in particular focusing on those that are classified as members of the inter-state system (referred to as “states”). Wars have been categorized by whether they primarily take place between/among states, between/among a state(s) and a non-state entity, and within states. This dataset encompasses wars in this latter category – wars that predominantly take place within the recognized territory of a state, or intra-state war.” (codebook, p. 1)

Intra-StateWars_Codebook

I/ Conflict variable
I/1/ Unit of conflict

Event (< 0 or 1 death)Conflict (< 25 deaths)War (< 100 deaths)Episode (< 500 deaths)
∅X∅∅
“An NSA can be considered a war participant if it either commits 100 armed personnel to the war or suffers 25 battle-related deaths.” (codebook, p. 3)

I/2/ Conflict domain

State-based conflictNon-state conflictOne-sided violenceTO BE DETERMINED
∅XX∅
“Within the new expanded COW typology of wars, intra-state wars have been subdivided into three general types, based upon the status of the combatants: civil wars involve the government of the state against a non-state entity; regional internal wars involve the government of a regional subunit against a non-state entity; and intercommunal wars involve combat between/among two or more non-state entities within the state.” (codebook, pp. 2-3)

II/ Time variable
II/1/ Unit of time

DayYear
X∅
“StartDay1 –
the day on which sustained combat began: -9 = day unknown” (codebook, p. 7)

II/2/ Time domain

Time domain
10/06/1818 – 11/06/2008

(Intra-StateWarData_v4.1.csv, 19/08/2022)

III/ Space variable
III/1/ Unit of space

CoordinatesCountryRegionTO BE DETERMINED
∅∅X∅
“WhereFought –
Region where combat occurred. Values are:
1 = W. Hemisphere
2 = Europe
4 = Africa
6 = Middle East
7 = Asia
9 = Oceania” (codebook, p. 7)

III/2/ Space domain

GlobalMediterranean Sea and SahelTO BE DETERMINED
X∅∅
“WhereFought –
Region where combat occurred. Values are:
1 = W. Hemisphere
2 = Europe
4 = Africa
6 = Middle East
7 = Asia
9 = Oceania” (codebook, p. 7)

IV/ Data structure
IV/1/ Unit of observation

Unit of conflict (UC)UC-yearUC-actorCountry-year
∅∅X∅
Actor-yearDyad-yearOTHERTO BE DETERMINED
∅∅∅∅
“Overall, there is one initial record for a war, and war participants are listed as having fought on Side A or Side B of the war. Additional records are added for wars in which it was possible to identify more than one participant on a side.” (codebook, p. 6)

(Intra-StateWarData_v4.1.csv, 19/08/2022)

IV/2/ Number of observations

Number of observations
339

(Intra-StateWarData_v4.1.csv, 19/08/2022)

V/ All variables

Conflict nameConflict typeIntensity
XX∅
OutcomeTimeSpace
XXX
ActorType of actorDyad
X∅∅
CoalitionDeathsNon-conflit variables
∅X∅
“WarName –
the name given to the war” (codebook, p. 6)
“WarType –
4 = Civil war for central control; 5 = Civil war over local issues; 6 = Regional internal; 7 = Intercommunal” (codebook, p. 6)
“Outcome: coded as:
1 – Side A wins
2 – Side B wins
3 – Compromise
4 – The war was transformed into another type of war
5 – The war is ongoing as of 12/31/2007
6 – Stalemate
7 – Conflict continues at below war level” (codebook, p. 8)
“StartDay1 –
the day on which sustained combat began: -9 = day unknown” (codebook, p. 6)
“WhereFought –
Region where combat occurred. Values are:
1 = W. Hemisphere
2 = Europe
4 = Africa
6 = Middle East
7 = Asia
9 = Oceania” (codebook, p. 7)
“SideA –
the name of the participant on Side A of the war: -8=Not Applicable (no additional party on this side)” (codebook, p. 6)
“Initiator –
the name of the participant that began the war” (codebook, p. 7)
“SideADeaths –
the battle-related combatant fatalities suffered by the Side A participant: -8 = not applicable, -9= data unknown” (codebook, p. 8)

VI/ Transparency
VI/1/ Sources

Intergovernmental organizationsGovernmental organizationsNon-governmental organizations
∅∅∅
Research organizationsPress mediaSocial media
∅∅∅
Other databasesOTHERTO BE DETERMINED
∅∅X

VI/2/ Codebook

DateVersion
TO BE DETERMINED4.0
“Inter-state Wars (Version 4.0): Definitions and Variables by Meredith Reid Sarkees” (codebook, p. 1)

Intra-StateWars_Codebook-1

VII/ Update
VII/1/ Current version

DateVersion
01/03/20114.1
“The COW Project introduced COW Wars v4.0, 1816-2007 in 2010. The paper “The COW Typology of War: Defining and Categorizing Wars (Version 4 of the Data)” by Meredith Reid Sarkees gives an overview of the COW war typology, the descriptions of the basic variables, coding rules and some of the changes since “Resort to Arms.” In March 2010, the New COW War List was released. On June 30, 2010, the Non-State War Data (v4.0) became available. On October 28, 2010, the Intra-State War Data (v4.0) was released and on April 6, 2020 the Intra-State War Data (v5.1) became available online. On March 1, 2011, the Inter-State War Data (v4.0) became available online. Finally, we released the Extra-State War Data (v4.0) on December 8, 2011.” (https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/cow-war/, 01/10/2023)

(https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/cow-war/, 01/10/2023)

VII/2/ Regularly updated ?

Real-timeMonthQuarterAnnually
∅∅∅∅
YES, PERIOD TO BE DETERMINEDTO BE DETERMINED
∅X

VIII/ Access
VIII/1/ Registration ?

YESNOTO BE DETERMINED
∅X∅

VIII/2/ Formats

.XLS/.XLSX.CSV.DTA (STATA).RDTA
∅X∅∅

(https://correlatesofwar.org/data-sets/cow-war/, 01/10/2023)

VIII/3/ API ?

YESNOTO BE DETERMINED
∅∅X