Clionadh Raleigh

2 months ago | acleddata.com | Clionadh Raleigh

Welcome readers,I hope that the start of the New Year has been exciting for you. 2025 promises to bring controversy, competition, and change — though the destination remains uncertain (or is it?). Perhaps it’s this ‘known-unknown’ of the future that is driving what I’d call ‘exhausted anxiety’ in our collective reactions to ceasefires, inaugurations, and policies.

2 months ago | politico.eu | Clionadh Raleigh

Clionadh Raleigh is president and CEO of the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project. I’ve been collecting conflict data for over 20 years, and cannot recall a time when I was more worried about what the public knows regarding political violence — and how they know it. When it comes to conflict, everyone has an opinion — often about why it occurs and who is responsible — and it’s very rare that these views based are on evidence. However, it isn’t such casual opinions I’m worried about.

Dec 19, 2024 | acleddata.com | Clionadh Raleigh

Dear readers,Many of us won’t be devastated that 2024 is ending. It has been an extraordinarily vicious year: Conflict has increased by 25% and, as detailed in our new Conflict Index, conflict rates have doubled in the past five years.  So…season’s greetings? Bring on 2025. This year’s findings from the ACLED Conflict Index are stark. Global conflict levels have surged dramatically, with nearly 200,000 political violence events recorded in 2024 alone.

Dec 11, 2024 | acleddata.com | Clionadh Raleigh |Katayoun Kishi

Movement around the IndexOver the course of 2024, Lebanon rose significantly in the Index, entering into the ‘extreme’ list, whereas it previously had hosted ‘high’ levels of conflict. Libya and Peru have also become worse, both because of increases in fatalities as a result of political violence. Levels of violence overall declined in Yemen despite remaining a site of very high conflict levels.

Nov 13, 2024 | acleddata.com | Clionadh Raleigh

Well, it’s official: the world really does love a chancer. Everyone has their own explanation for Trump’s sweeping return to power. Maybe it’s populism, or a deep-seated preference for ‘strong-man’ leadership. It is close to impossible to neatly explain the actions of the millions of Americans — men, women, rural, urban, young, and old — who turned out for him. Yet, regardless of the reasons, this outcome will reverberate across every corner of American society and beyond.